Son of a Ranger
by Rangerbaldwin
Summary: Takes place after the death of John Sheridan. Many charcters are my own but I have liberally used Delenn and Ivanova. Idea: If Ivanova and Marcus had a love child, how would it turn out?


Lost Lamb, Lion Found

Author: Lynda D. Mayfield ()

Summary: Post season five. What sort of trouble could Marcus Cole's son get into?

_**Disclaimer: Only the new characters are mine. The old ones are JMS' or WB's. I always clean up my toys and put them back to mostly the way I found them.**_

Son of a Ranger

May 2282 . . .

Susan Ivanova, though in her early 60s, was Entil'zha of the Rangers. She adjusted well to the change from General to Ranger One. She ran things the way she wanted. She could be private, elusive, and alone. She had wanted this for a very long time.

Susan was not typically given to introspection, but as she sat in her office on a cold spring day on Minbar that was what she did. She wanted some answers before she started the day. Answers from herself about why she so wanted the isolation Delenn (and John as well, most likely) had given her.

In her life, Susan's loved ones seemed to disappear fairly quickly. Not counting her many consorts. Her mother had died when Susan was barely ten; Ganya, her brother less than nine years later; her father eighteen years after Ganya. She and her father hadn't spoken much in the gap of years.

To add to that were Marcus Cole and John Sheridan. Marcus had been a dashing, caring Ranger. His death came at a high emotional price for Susan. She didn't, refused, to admit she loved him until he'd proven his own love for all eternity. He was still in cryo., on Earth now that B5 was destroyed.

Less than twenty years separated that death from John Sheridan's. John had been the first President of the Interstellar Alliance for many years, before he handed the torch to his wife, Delenn. He had accomplished much in those years. Everything he had always planned prior to his death.

_'Why couldn't someone come into my life and stay?'_ she wondered to herself in thought.

As if in answer, there was a knock on her open office door, and a clearing of the throat to announce oneself. Susan looked up. A Ranger stood there. He seemed to be no more than a boy. His plain brown eyes felt familiar. His dark hair was cut short, but wavy and thick. He sported a Sheridan-style brown goatee.

"Can I help you, Ranger?" Susan asked, now in the present.

"I have something for you, Entil'zha," the boy said.

"Hand it over. I don't bite," Susan implored, "What's your name? I know most of the Rangers stationed on Minbar."

"Lucas Zaxtin, Ma'am," he replied, handing her a data crystal, "Just graduated this winter from training."

"I thought you looked green," Susan stated.

"Sorry," the young man grinned. In fact, he had smiled since knocking on her door.

"Is something funny, Mr. Zaxtin," Susan inquired, irritated.

The Ranger stopped grinning, "No ma'am. I'm sorry."

Susan thought a moment, "I don't want your apology, I want to know what you were thinking."

"Well, ma'am, I didn't know what to expect when I came up here. Some of my friends warned me that you were…well, stern. To find you to be so quiet, um, that took me by surprise," Luke explained.

"Don't lie—I'd expect they told you I am a crotchety old bitch. I wouldn't be very surprised. I sort of raised some standards when I started here a few months ago. Don't assume anything, Ranger Zaxtin, until you see it first hand."

"Yes ma'am," he said, nodding. He was all seriousness now.

"You are dismissed. Thank you for bringing the data crystal," Susan said evenly. The young Ranger quietly left her office.

The act of inserting the data crystal into her desk panel caused Susan's video panel to activate, and the office lights to dim. The face of a woman in her late forties appeared on the screen. She had brown hair and brown eyes.

"Hello," the voice introduced itself, "My name is Kathleen Zaxtin-Martin. I have a story to tell you. It spans eighteen years, and involves the Psi Corps, and other related agencies. Part of it is my story. And part of it is yours, Susan Ivanova."

That caught Susan's attention right away. What would Ranger Zaxtin's mother want with Susan? She ordered, "Computer, pause."

Susan rose and shut the door to her office.

"Computer, continue," Susan said, and the computer complied with a beep.

Kathleen continued her story, as a child's pictures began to appear in sequence on the screen, "These are the baby pictures, and childhood pictures, of the son I raised. He's my adopted child. You are his biological mother."

Susan was floored. "Impossible," she breathed. She knew she had never had children. She'd had regular physicals, and signs of childbirth would show up on one of those. Never mind that she wouldn't forget nine months of being pregnant. Lost in a daze, Susan had to rewind part of the message to continue where she'd left off.

The woman on the screen continued her story, "I am sorry to put it so plainly, but there is no way around the truth, and the only way to ensure you heard the whole story was to start with the plain truth.

"Nineteen years ago, you helped John Sheridan to end Earth's civil war. In doing so, you became critically injured. During the trip to return you to Babylon Five for your last days, the Psi Corps slipped an operative aboard the shuttle. The operative had been highly trained for the mission, and passed herself off as an unimportant orderly. She gave you sponge baths, emptied your bedpan, and when you were quite unaware, she harvested eggs from your ovaries. Soon, she made it back to Psi Corps HQ.

"A day after you arrived on Babylon Five, so did Marcus Cole. When he used the alien healing device to give his life for yours, things played even more into the hands of the Psi Corps. Minutes before doctor Franklin arrived, another operative harvested his sperm, even as the life was drained from his body. How they knew to have people near the two of you, I have no idea. Perhaps they assumed that where you were, he would go. Things were very volatile then, and all of the senior staff on Babylon Five could have been killed at any time. I only found out the means and motives recently myself.

"You might ask why the Psi Corps wanted to have a child that was yours and Marcus'. They knew they had a one in four chance of getting a telepath, thanks to your mother having been telepathic. Although you never were found to be a teep yourself, Psi Corps wanted to find out if they could get a telepath out of the embryos they created. Also, they wanted to use the child against you if the first plan didn't work out.

"Only seven eggs survived the trip to Psi Corps HQ. They proceeded to implant all the embryos into two surrogate mothers, and waited. Lucas' was the only cell to implant in either surrogate womb. The Corps patiently awaited Lucas' birth. After a year, they weaned him from the surrogate mother and placed him in my care, where I gave him his name.

"I do not know what became of the surrogate mother. He came to me with an extensive copy of his medical records, which I have included in the index, and all the photos from his first year. He was photographed twice a year until he reached his teens. I knew Marcus was his father, and you were his mother, as soon as I saw his chart. The Psi Corps wanted me to make it appear genuine that he was my son, so I gave him the last name I had at the time, Zaxtin.

"His middle name is Cole, as I thought might be appropriate. The people I was working for didn't see any harm. I knew it might matter to Lucas later.

"My role in the Psi Corps is a very minor one. I am a telepath, yes. P-One. P-Ones are spit upon by all of the other telepaths, and although we were taught that the Corps is mother and father, we were treated like the black sheep.

"Getting back on topic; since I am such a low Psi, I was relegated to caring for and tutoring Luke. I was his new mother. Psi Corps was starting to fall apart a bit by then. Lyta was on Babylon Five, causing trouble and trying to get things changed.

"Not much changed until five years ago. Luke reached the age of thirteen and showed no psi ability at all. Psi Corps was getting restless. Their Plan A wasn't coming through. They tried surface scans and got no defensive reaction from him. I was worried they might try to kill him and leave no trace of him. After twelve years, he and I were very attached. By then he knew well he wasn't my biological son. His full background he had no knowledge of.

"Two years later, I was informed that I could teach anywhere. A low-level teep like myself was no longer considered a threat to society, although I still had to wear the Psi Corps insignia and gloves. Luke and I were already living in a small town home on Earth, all our needs provided by the Corps. There was an elementary school nearby, and I was encouraged to find a job there. The devastating point was that I was no longer to teach Luke.

"I knew then that they were going to start Plan B. I knew it couldn't happen. Plan B was fairly simple. They wanted to brainwash Luke, and have him get close to you, then report back to them. He would be required to tell you that he is your son, and he would have the proof sitting in his DNA. I'd known this might happen for all the time since I'd had Luke as my charge. I couldn't let them do it to him. I couldn't let him betray his own mother, because if he found out what he'd done later, he'd hate himself.

"I admit that I did this with no consideration of you. None at all. I did it for one selfish reason. Luke. So for his sake, we ran.

"I waited, but not long. Two weeks after I started teaching at the school, I decided the time was right. On a Friday afternoon, I packed two suitcases and made supper. When Luke was returned home from Psi Corps that night, we ate and talked. I had him start the dishes and placed a call for a taxi.

"Luke didn't want to leave. He was afraid. But he listened to me. He agreed with me when I told him I only wanted what was best for him. We did not talk at all in the taxi. It stopped in front of a hotel and we got out. There was a two-block walk to the house of a good friend of mine. He wasn't related to the Psi Corps, but he could help us. I won't tell you who he is, because I don't want the Corps to find him. He let us stay the next day at his home, which was very dangerous. The Psi Corps started a private, internal search for the two of us at 0800 that morning, when Luke wasn't waiting to be picked up.

"I don't know how he managed it, but that night, the friend secreted us away two continents, to a house of one of his friends. The Psi Corps put out a missing person report on Luke, but not me. We laid low for a week, and continued to get shuttled around for the next six months. Then we managed passage to Mars. We moved every year thereafter, to the houses of friends and friends of friends.

"Until two years ago, when we finally settled on Mars. I still live on Mars, and as you can tell, I married here. After the first move to Mars, I fully explained to Luke who he was, who you are, and what happened to his father. He was angry about the way he was stolen from both of you. He stayed angry with me for a long time. I believe he being stifled and not being allowed out in public caused part of the anger. We were always being watched for. Getting Luke back was always a top priority for one reason or another. After a while, Luke decided of his own accord that he wanted to join the Rangers. I made him wait until he turned eighteen. That you became the Ranger One just as he began his training was too coincidental. He sent me a communication immediately, asking how best to meet you. I sent him a reply along with this data crystal. I told him I should be the one to explain.

"Luke barely understands it all himself. I don't think there is much more to say, Miss Ivanova. I am sorry you had to find out this way, but he is your son, truly, and he wishes you no harm.

"Thank you for listening. Goodbye," Kathleen's voice faded, and her image disappeared from the screen. The lights in Susan's office returned to full. Tears fell silently from Susan's eyes.

"Anybody walks in, it's the lights," Susan said quietly, reaching in one of the desk drawers for a tissue.

Minutes later, two Rangers stood before Susan. She knew she could trust the two, who had been Rangers for several years. Mitch Baldwin was married to another Ranger and they had two children together. He was very loyal to both Delenn and Susan, and had been quite helpful with her transition as Entil'zha. He still stood tall at five feet eight inches. His brown hair was graying in some sections, but his gray eyes still sparkled with life.

A grizzled old Boxer, Lee, sat loyally next to Mitch. He must have been at least eighteen, his once brown-white body now graying around the muzzle and on his chest. He had had his spine surgically repaired, and his left leg was now completely bionic. His heart, kidneys and other organs had had "tune ups" over time, but the veterinarians found no reason for him not to live to forty and beyond.

Mac Myer was Mitch's close friend. He was a bachelor and was almost always doing something involving Ranger work. Getting him to take a vacation was usually difficult, according to his record, and Delenn had usually left the convincing to Mitch. Mac was a few inches taller than Mitch, and had brown hair, also graying, and brown eyes.

"Good morning, gentleman," Susan said.

"Good morning, Entil'zha," the men said in unison.

"I'm sorry to drag you both from your morning, but I need people I can trust right now. Are you two familiar with a Ranger Zaxtin?"

Mitch shook his head no. Mac spoke up, "I know him."

"Where is he?"

"We assigned him to the daycare for his first three months," Mac said.

"I need him in my office, but keep it quiet," Susan ordered, "As fast as possible."

"Of course, Entil'zha," Mac said. He left with Mitch to bring in the Ranger, unaware of what exactly was going on. Both Rangers agreed as they walked the halls that there was some problem, and they should clear their schedules in case the Entil'zha needed them further.

Luke Zaxtin was in Susan's office sooner than she thought he would be. Rangers Baldwin and Myer stood before her desk with their charge, waiting for further orders.

"Thank you, gentleman. Please wait outside my office. And close the door," Susan said. The two men obeyed, leaving Susan alone with the man who thought he was her son.

"What do you think you are doing?" Susan asked the young Ranger.

"Ma'am?"

"Do you have a hearing problem? What is the idea, coming in here, and giving me this data crystal, trying to claim me for your mother! And further, upsetting my memories of Marcus Cole by implying that he is your father?" Susan yelled at him.

"I'm sorry. I wrote my mother, my adopted mother, and she said she'd fill you in on things. I didn't mean to upset you," Luke said in a rush.

"Well you have. I don't care to have people suddenly intrude on my life when I am satisfied with it," Susan rose and opened her office door, "I need you two in here."

The two men stepped inside as requested.

"Seize Mr. Zaxtin and put him in the brig," Susan said coldly.

"What! On what charges?" Luke demanded.

"You claim to be my son, and I want you in the brig until I can get DNA tests done. Normally, this would only take a day or two. The problem is, I need DNA from Marcus Cole as well, and there's only one place to get it: his cryo tube on Earth," Susan stated. Mac and Mitch exchanged looks of shock. Susan continued, "Until your claim is confirmed, or not, I'm placing you in the brig so you can't go anywhere while I'm waiting. If you are lying, you may be there a very long time."

Luke hung his head.

"Go," Susan said softly, her nerves on edge.

"I can bring him on my own," Mitch offered, "Right?"

"Yeah," Luke agreed quietly. The two left Mac alone with the Entil'zha, Lee trotting behind them.

"Mac I need you to do something for me. I need you to go to Earth and get the DNA sample from Marcus for me. Stephen is there now. Dr. Stephen Franklin, that is. Hook up with him and he'll help you get what you need. I'll send out a message as soon as you leave."

"Yes ma'am," Mac agreed.

"Let me know if you have any problems. How long do you think it will take?"

"Eleven days, maximum," Mac replied, "May I ask a question?"

Susan nodded.

"Why can't Dr. Franklin contact you directly with the analysis? He can send the information on a sub channel."

"I want this kept under wraps as much as possible," Susan replied, "I don't need everyone on Minbar and Earth knowing what's going on in my life, and I don't trust the comm. system to keep my secrets."

"I see. I'll go right away," Mac said. He bowed to her and turned and left the room.

Susan continued her morning as calmly as she could. When she'd called Stephen, he immediately agreed to help her out, and would keep an eye out for Mac. It comforted her to know that Marcus was in the care of her old friend. And that someone would keep an eye on Mac for her. Since becoming Entil'zha, she felt like all the Rangers were her family, and she didn't want to lose any of them.

Her morning meetings were with staff and supervisors. With the routine she had gotten into, Susan really didn't have to participate. She just had to say yay or nay to the suggested ideas. It was helpful today. She kept having trouble paying attention to what others were saying. Once she got the gist, she nodded or said no and briefly explained. She was glad to get out of the meetings.

Susan had lunch delivered to her office by her assistant and remained as aloof as possible all day. Her afternoon was filled with reports. Others around her could sense her mood, so they stayed away.

Delenn stopped by Ivanova's office as the sun began to set. That was fine with Susan, who was tired of reading reports and making suggestions to questions she wasn't certain how to answer. She was a little surprised. Delenn had been very liberal about letting Susan run the Rangers the way she wanted to. Susan guessed she wasn't letting her friend down, because Delenn rarely stopped by.

"Hi, Delenn," Susan greeted her, standing to bow formally, "What brings you here?"

"Just stopping in to see a friend," Delenn said, "I have been so busy with the presidency lately. And since John left us, I haven't had time to call on friends the way I once could. I have walked by your office too many times of late."

"I know," Susan smiled, "I've had a bit of a busy day myself."

"I had heard about that," Delenn agreed, "Anything you care to confide in your old friend."

Susan sighed.

"Or just some company at dinner tonight would be fine," Delenn demurred, reaching out to pat Susan's hand.

"I'm going to close the door to my office, and let you look at what I saw today. I'd love to know if you think I've been behaving rashly or not, because I can't decide, and you are the only one I can ask about this," Susan stated straightforwardly.

"What is this about?" Delenn asked. Susan nodded silently as she slipped the data crystal into the outlet and rose to shut the door.

When the vid shut itself off, Delenn said nothing. Susan didn't quite pay as close attention to it the second time, trying to keep her eyes averted by watching Delenn's reactions to the frames. She couldn't help the tears again, but this time, she wiped them away before Delenn could turn to notice.

"Well?" Susan asked apprehensively when the lights returned to full.

"As I said before," Delenn stated calmly, "we should discuss this over dinner. It has been too long, and perhaps you should not be alone tonight."

"Indeed," Susan whispered her agreement, "What time, madam president?"

Both women smiled at the comment.

"Nineteen-thirty hours would be fine," Delenn answered.

"Good, that will give me time to get cleaned up and ready," Susan agreed, "Will you have any other guests?"

"No, no need to dress formally," Delenn said.

"Very well," Susan smiled.

Promptly, Susan arrived at the presidential dining room. She did not have to wait for the Rangers to announce her to the president, but chose to. Not much later, two relatively young Rangers showed her into the dining room proper. Delenn had already been seated at the head of the long table. Susan walked to the chair on Delenn's right.

"I told you this was a casual dinner," Delenn reminded Susan, eyeing the glitzy navy colored dress Susan was wearing, along with the necklace and bracelets her friend wore.

"I wanted to," Susan explained, "I haven't been to dinner with a friend in a long time. For the longest time it's been military lunches and the occasional ball. In military dress."

"I feel much the same," Delenn concurred, "Since John died, I've been left alone to grieve by my clan. Twenty years ago, they would never have accepted my exercising the right, and the rite. The Alliance and he himself changed their views a bit. And the friends I _have_ had all pity me. I don't want that anymore."

"Well then," Susan said, picking up a glass of sparkling juice, "To a joyful dinner for once!"

The glasses clinked and the women drank. Susan was already grinning, and the salad wasn't even on the table yet. She had high hopes for a good time, or at least decent conversation.

"I want to know what you thought of the vid," Susan said as the salads arrived.

"It was slightly confusing, to be honest. I would like more background on how the vid came to be in your possession."

"It was an odd coincidence, really," Susan began, "I was in my office, contemplating the men I've lost in my life, and wishing someone knew how to stick around. Then this freshman Ranger walks in, all grins, hands me the vid and leaves, without so much as a pleased-to-meet-ya.

"I had no choice but to put the vid in the player and find out what the mystery behind it was. I almost wish I hadn't."

"I see," Delenn said thoughtfully, "And why did this Ranger end up in confinement? Word is all over the city, among the Rangers."

"I should have put a hush order on it. Damn. I had a good reason Delenn. I feel obliged to run some DNA tests and I didn't want him to decide it wasn't worth it. Also, in trying to keep my private life private, I sent a Ranger to Dr. Franklin to get some of Marcus' DNA. That'll take time."

"Understandable," Delenn said.

"I don't know, maybe I'm crazy, and that was the wrong thing to do. I can't see a way around him not being my son. I have to make sure before I go any farther with any sort of relationship with this kid."

"Of course, but you could have restricted him to his quarters. We treat all Rangers as if they could behave of their own accord. Has Ranger Zaxtin given you any resistance at all?"

"No," Susan admitted, "But he'll be a lot easier to watch from the brig."

"I must concede there."

"What if he is my son, Delenn? What do I do then?"

"There is no easy answer to that, Susan, considering the way your relationship has started, but I think a good first step would be to release him from the brig," Delenn deadpanned.

Susan laughed, "That would be the least I could do."

"Then maybe you could find out the person he has become. Given that you know his past, a condensed version, perhaps it would be a good time to find out about the person he is now."

"You seem to have all the answers, Delenn."

"I don't Susan. But I am a mother. I had the privilege of watching my son grow up, one day at a time, and getting to know him as he began to understand himself. Perhaps you can help Luke understand who he is by telling him who you are, and how Marcus used to be."

"I don't know if I can do that, Delenn," Susan said, tears welling in her eyes, "It hurts too much to think about Marcus, and especially the way I lost him. We all lost him. He was lined up to command a White Star. And he was valued by many on Babylon 5. I think I undervalued him most of all. I can never pay for that, Delenn."

"I understand what you are going through. Truly I do, Susan. But you should treasure Marcus' memory, not cry for him. As you said, we all valued him. That you came to the realization later than others is of no import. His son has a right to know who his father was. And you did spend a lot more time with Marcus than many of us did."

"At least you know for sure that John is dead," Susan stated, "Dr. Franklin destroyed the working parts of that Alien Healing Device. I'm glad he did it. Earth Alliance and IPX weren't very happy with him, but I took him to dinner that night," Susan smiled.

"He couldn't allow someone to use that machine again. Even the most determined person managed to find it and use it for his own purposes. Not that the result was terrible, only regrettable," Delenn agreed.

"Yes, Stephen had good reasons for permanently disabling the Device."

"Which Ranger did you send to Earth?"

"Mac Myer. I had him hitch a ride with one of the White Stars, because they are still the fastest ships in the galaxy. He can catch a transport to Earth when they reach the Io station. I had a few favors out that way, so he's got easy passage the whole trip. And he's not exactly alone."

"What do you mean, not alone?"

"Ranger Baldwin, Mitch, stopped by my office after he'd deposited Luke in a cell for me. He told me he'd seen Mac and sent Lee, his dog, along for the ride."

"I know Lee. He's a very good choice to send," Delenn said, "Are you expecting any trouble?"

"Maybe from Psi Corps. They've apparently been on Luke's trail for some time. He's had luck the last two years, but if they figure out he's here, well, I really don't think they have a chance sending Psi Cops into the heart of the Rangers' existence."

"I can safely agree with that. The Alliance will not sanction a contingent of Psi Cops coming here. It will have to be a stealth operation."

"That will be dicey for whichever agent they send, having so many Rangers around all the time."

"Are you fully incorporated into being Entil'zha now?" Delenn asked curiously.

"Oh, yes. Meetings, Rangers, and the Ranger Ball. Twice a year. They really know how to party."

"They need to relax after all that training and the graduation ceremonies," Delenn explained.

"Of course. It's lovely here Delenn, I can't thank you enough for offering me this job. My life is so peaceful now, aside from this little event that's come up."

"John and I thought you might like it here," Delenn smiled.

Susan and Delenn talked through dinner and dessert and coffee afterward about how things were going in the Alliance, and on Minbar. Finally, both were too tired to talk anymore, and had to retire to sleep.

At the landing bay on Rovven, a small town two hours north, via shuttle bus, of Tuzanor, a man exited the passenger shuttle and collected his gear from the baggage department. His hair was short, blond and parted to the left. He wore a suit with no tie, as ties had been out of style for a century. He left the jacket unbuttoned, and his black shoes were polished a shiny black.

Minbar was cold this time of year, so he had on black gloves as he exited to find a shuttle bus to take him to a hotel in Tuzanor. At least, that was what he told the companions he rode the bus with. Hidden on the shirt under his jacket was his golden Psi Corps pin. He was to keep it hidden, but he still had to wear it. He was a level seven telepath. Not overpowering, but strong enough to handle the Mundanes on Minbar. There were telepaths on Minbar, but they wouldn't care enough about the man to notice.

Finally, the man saw his destination in evening lights of Tuzanor. Hotels on Minbar were not very large. Most were smaller than five stories. Minbar was not much of a tourist attraction until 2250, after the Earth-Minbari war. This hotel was three stories, carved from the surrounding crystal on three sides. The front face was made of native stone. Eagerly, the man made his way to the desk to sign in.

A Minbari said, "Here is the access card. Your room is 303. There is a lift to your right."

"Thank you," the man said, taking the card and his bags. He knew better than to ask for a bellboy on Minbar. He did not have but two suitcases, at any rate. If he had to leave in a hurry, he would leave everything. Nothing was more important to him than his life, not even the Corps.

On entering the room, he emptied his cases into the bureau and closet, then slipped into a less formal shirt and slacks. He had eaten a snack on the shuttle bus to the hotel, and decided that would do. He was never very hungry when he was on a mission anyway. The Corps doctors hated when he returned having lost twenty pounds, but he couldn't help it. Minbari food wasn't his favorite anyway.

He had a mission to concentrate on. Operatives on Earth had spotted a Ranger going through to visit a doctor of xenobiology. Not unusual to have Rangers on Earth, but the doctor was from the original Babylon 5 crew, and he also happened to have access to a certain cryo tube containing Marcus Cole.

For some reason, Psi Corps higher ups thought that merited sending a man to Minbar to find a certain Ranger. Lucas, or Luke, Zaxtin. On hearing the name, bells went off right away. Lucas had been involved with Psi Corps from his birth, and although he was not a telepath, his adopted mother was. When they went missing years ago, Psi Corps listed them both as BLIPs. And for some very mysterious reason, retrieving Luke had been more important than finding his mother.

A year after Luke went missing, Psi Corps started to fall apart. Rules changed. Yet he, Ben Flynn, had stayed loyal to the Corps' policies and administrators. He would complete his mission and if Luke Zaxtin left Minbar, it would be with him.

Smiling to himself, he decided to go to sleep, and then take in the sites of Minbar in the morning and find out where Luke might be found. Likely he was somewhere in the Ranger compound, if what he had been told was true, regarding the Ranger's parentage.

Mac Myer arrived on Minbar ten days after he started his mission, exited a passenger shuttle with Lee and was greeted by both Mitch Baldwin and the Entil'zha. His trip had been a hard one, and his body was showing it. He couldn't catch the White Star scheduled to bring him home, and the med kit in the shuttle was not much help with his injuries.

Mac's face was bruised, dried blood having coalesced on his cheeks and forehead. Someone had helped him jury-rig a sling for his right arm. He tried not to show it, but he was walking a little too tenderly for the other two to believe his legs were without injury.

Lee had seen his share of wounds as well, and had been tended to by Mac as much as possible. His legs were cut and had abrasions. His right jaw and cheek had been sliced and was stitched poorly. Even injured, he wagged his rear wildly on seeing Baldwin.

"Mr. Myer, what happened?" Ivanova asked on seeing the pair.

"Ma'am, it's a long story, and I really hoped I could go over it with you both in the hospital. Long story short, I'm old, and without Lee, I'd be dead," Mac started to explain as a grin began to pull on his lips.

"Good enough, mister, we have a hovcar at our disposal, let's go, shall we?" Ivanova suggested, eyeing Ranger Baldwin and Lee.

"My wife is going to kick my butt," Baldwin muttered to himself as he slid his hand through his brown hair. He had knelt down to look at his dog. Lee was licking his owner's hand. Mitch pulled a handful of small bone shaped treats from inside his cloak and the dog ate them greedily.

"What's that?" Ivanova asked.

"Oh, nothing, we're ready," Baldwin nodded his assent. Lee trotted along and jumped the short distance into the ground car, taking a seat on the floor between Rangers Baldwin and Myer. Ivanova sat closest to the door, next to Mac.

At the hospital, the doctors worked as fast as possible to heal Mac's wounds. Ivanova waited in the hall. She needed a further report from Mac, as soon as he was ready. Mitch had gone down the hall with his dog to have him treated.

Ranger Baldwin returned to the Entil'zha's side as soon as he could. After an hour, the doctors were still poking and prodding at Mac, but they told the two their patient was ready enough for visitors.

Mac's face had been cleaned up, but the bruises were too old to help. Mac's face would have a black, brown, and yellow tinge in some spots for a few more days. Doctors continued poking and prodding Mac back into one piece.

Mac was not going to be admitted, so he did not bother with a hospital gown. He was not expecting visitors, as the Minbari doctors had not warned him, so he was left bare-chested and pants-less in front of his superior.

He sat on the bare pallet, only somewhat flushed. At his age, he didn't much care who saw him near naked. He kept in shape, and one could tell from his well-sculpted arms, chest, stomach, and legs.

"Can't he have his pants back?" the Entil'zha whispered loudly as she averted her gaze to the wall.

"Of course, we've finished with his feet and legs," the nearest medic reported.

Ranger Baldwin handed Mac his pants and he put them on as quickly as he could manage with an audience. He retreated back onto the bed for the rest of his looking over, the floor too cold on his bare feet. Minbari didn't seem to mind the cold. The soles of their shoes were paper-thin.

"Here," Ranger Baldwin said, holding out a clean pair of socks that were folded in half.

Mac commented with a smile, "This is the first day in three I've had clean feet, and now I have clean socks to boot."

"Why were you walking so tenderly when you got off that transport?" Susan asked.

"The docs here say I had hairline fractures on my leg and foot bones. Must be from all that kicking a couple of days ago," Mac said as the doctors inspected him. His right arm was as good as ever now, no sling necessary.

"How's Lee?" Mac asked Mitch now that they had a modicum of privacy.

"They're working on him in the another room," Mitch answered.

"What did happen, Mac?" Ivanova interjected.

Mac jumped off the bed to give her his report, standing rigidly at attention as he always did in the presence of the Entil'zha, "Well—"

"On the bed is okay," Susan cut him off. Knowing she wouldn't rest until he obliged her, Mac obeyed.

"Just to sum up, everything started off fine. The trip to Earth was great, I made an extra day and a half getting to Earth. The real trouble started on the morning of the third day, on the way back. I was on a passenger flight, but it was Ranger-friendly, and willing to dock briefly with the White Star _Fox Den_. I had everything packed, and Lee was by my side, waiting for the dock.

"A couple of guys…well, more like five or six…came up behind me. Lee had his ears back and he was growling before I realized they were even there. It was a free for all. The ship still docked, but when we didn't make it off, it kept going.

"Meantime, I'm fighting with these guys…for some time. They've got knives out, and it was too close a fight for my pike. Lee and I were starting to lose when some of the crew from the shuttle gave us a hand. We detained the attackers in the cargo bay until the landing. When the shuttle docked at Proxima Three, the authorities took the goons. I hung around to give them a report, but when they figured out who I was, they let me go.

"They stitched up Lee's jaw, then. I was stuck on passenger ships the rest of the way here. No time to have doctors tend my wounds. My gear got lost in the tussle," Mac explained.

"What about…" Ivanova trailed off. She suddenly didn't care much about Mac's mission…she was just glad Mac was okay.

"I lost my gear, ma'am, but not these," Mac reached for his cloak at the end of the bed and pulled out 5 vials from a concealed pocket.

"Mac, thank you," Susan said with deepest sincerity. She had known in the back of her mind Mac would not fail his mission, but she wasn't sure until he pulled out the vials. For all he had been through, his objective was complete.

"Entil'zha," Mac said simply, "I live for the one."

"I die for the one," Mitch said with Mac.

Mac continued, "I told the authorities on Proxima to let them go. I don't want to cause trouble on Proxima, and I don't know what those men were involved with, but I'm sure it would have been bad news to keep them locked up. They said they'd ship them out two days after I left."

"I would have liked to question them also. But all things considered, well done," Ivanova said, "I'm going to get these to the laboratories for testing."

"I couldn't really ask with Ranger One around but what exactly is Lee's status?" Mac wanted to know as he watched Ivanova leave.

"He'll be fine, Mac. When we got here, I took him to his specialist…convenient that they've seen him here before. He wouldn't let them inject him with anesthetic, so I did it. Once he was out like a light they pulled his stitches, and repaired the skin on his jaw. He's lying on a bed, about to wake up any minute."

Mac laughed, "Are Diana and your kids going to kill me for getting him hurt, or what?"

"Hell no. They know how he works. He's more my wife's dog than anyone's. They used to hate each other, but now they are fast friends."

"Hate?"

"Long story Mac."

"You can tell me about it on the way to my quarters," Mac said, picking up the remainder of his clothes and leaving the hospital with his friend.

Susan sat at her desk the following day, staring in disbelief at five flimsies on her desk. She had skipped breakfast and cancelled all of her meetings for the day. Her office door was closed. She had paged Delenn a few minutes ago, and expected her soon. Closing her eyes, she attempted to meditate.

"Should I come back later?" Delenn's voice asked, shaking Susan from her reverie.

"Uh, no, please come in," Susan said, shaking herself awake.

"I see you have the results you were waiting for." She eyed the flimsies on the desk.

"Yes. Five different centers, two of which ran the test twice before sending the final results." Susan said glumly

"And what do they say?"

"He's my son. Marcus' and mine. The kid and his mother weren't lying." Susan's voice was a monotone as she spoke.

"It appears you wish this were not so. I think you should be happy." Delenn advised, sitting across from Susan.

Susan pressed a button and Luke's photo from his Ranger file appeared on the screen across from Ivanova's desk. She admired it a moment before saying, "You know, he looks so much like my brother Ganya. Except for the goatee, they are perfect twins. I think that in my heart I knew he was mine. His grin, that sloppy grin he walked into this office with almost two weeks ago, that's Marcus'. You can't miss a grin like his."

"So if the evidence is no longer in dispute, why is he still sitting in a cell?" Delenn inquired.

"I don't know. I guess I'm afraid to go to him," Susan said, looking at the desk.

"You must know that all he wants is recognition."

"How could I not know my child? Don't mothers just know these things?" Susan stood, frustrated. She crossed her arms.

"You would have to agree that your situation is different. You couldn't have known. For half of his life, even Luke was not aware of who he was, who you really were. You cannot blame anyone but the ones who did this to you and him," Delenn advised her.

"You're right, Delenn. I'm going down there now. I want to get to know him. I'm in my sixties, I don't have time to waste figuring out if he thinks I'm worthy or not," Susan said, determined.

"Would you like company?" Delenn offered.

"No, I think this time, I should be on my own. Thank you for seeing me Delenn, for helping me answer the questions I've wrestled all morning." Susan gathered the results to bring to Luke.

"Anything for you my friend," Delenn smiled and left the room.

Susan made her way down to Luke's holding cell. She had told the two Rangers who usually accompany her everywhere that she wanted to go alone, and that there were Rangers all over the area anyway. She could also still handle herself, old as they thought she was.

Susan was only mildly surprised to find Rangers Myer and Baldwin guarding Luke's cell. The dog, Lee, was also there, at Ranger Baldwin's side. The men stiffened their postures to attention on seeing her.

Luke also rose off his bunk at attention. His breakfast tray had been abandoned, half its contents uneaten. He still wore his Ranger uniform.

"Myer, Baldwin, you are relieved," Susan said to the guards. The two looked at each other, then the Entil'zha. They bowed to her as they made their way out of the detention center.

"I don't need guards anymore?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"Nope, nor do you need a prison cell," Ivanova said. Pulling the flimsies out of a pocket in her cloak, she handed them to Luke, "You might want to hold onto those, however."

Luke glanced at the flimsies then stowed them in his uniform as Susan pressed the release button for his cell. Luke walked out slowly, not sure what Ivanova wanted of him.

"You didn't even look at what those results said," Susan pointed out.

"I know what they say…you're my mother," Luke said quietly.

"I am," Susan admitted easily, nodding.

"Now what?" Luke asked, grinning because he couldn't help being happy that she knew he was her son.

Susan hadn't expected to, but she opened her arms to Luke, inviting a hug. He gave himself over to her embrace, and though he had not expected to, he started to cry silently. Ivanova had tears in her eyes also. She had a piece of Marcus back. The way Luke grinned, the way he waited for her to choose the direction their relationship would go, that was just like Marcus.

"Would you like to go to my office, discuss some things?" Ivanova offered Luke.

"I should go to my quarters…shower and change," Luke said.

"You're right." Susan said, realizing the man probably wanted time to think as well, "Lunch then?"

"I would like that."

"Good." Susan said, leading the way out of the brig, "Let's go."

Luke began walking to his quarters. He enjoyed the outdoors, even if the weather was a little nippy. The chill air helped keep him alert. After a few minutes, he saw a man in a black suit trailing him. The man wasn't doing a very good job keeping himself concealed, so Luke leaned against a wall and waited for the stranger to catch up.

"May I help you, sir?" Luke said, stepping out from the wall.

"Aren't you that Ranger who's been stuck in the brig this last week?" the man replied with his own question.

"It's been a little longer than that, but yeah, I'd be the guy. So what?" Luke said, irritated.

"My name's Ben Flynn," the man stuck his right hand out for Luke to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Mister Flynn but I have things to be doing," Luke said, letting go of the grip.

"Please call me Ben. I wanted to talk with you, Luke, because I don't think the Rangers appreciate you the way they should. After all, you've been here what, two, three months maybe? And they put you in the brig? What can you do wrong in two months' time?" Ben began.

"Intriguing…a lot of things can be done wrong, but do continue," Luke said, all ears as he continued walking toward the barracks and his quarters.

"Well, I have some associates who can treat you right, and appreciate your talents. All that you've learned from the Rangers would be a boon to them," Ben said.

"If it's illegal, forget it. Besides, I'm signed up for the next two years with the Rangers. I don't know if I can break that agreement."

"The Rangers are a volunteer outfit, yes? This was only a verbal agreement, am I right?"

"You are quite informed, Mister Flynn."

"Talk to your boss. That…Ranger One. Tell her you want out. She'll have to let you go. My associates didn't give me any of the specifics. But if you are interested…"

"Yes, what? What if I am interested?" Luke decided to take the bait for the moment.

"Easy! If you are interested, I have two tickets to Mars, one for each of us. My boss has a home there, a big one, and you can discuss the options with him at that time."

"If I agree, and you are tricking me because I am or was a Ranger, I'll find out fast," Luke threatened.

"Look, it's up to you, Luke. I mean you no harm. If you don't want to go, don't. You have until the day after tomorrow, at sun up, to decide. That's the date on the tickets. Meet me at the boarding gate to Mars."

"Where are you staying? I'll call you," Luke offered.

"I can't tell you that. Just show up," Flynn said, starting to walk away. Luke grabbed him.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Luke inquired.

"The same way I'm supposed to trust you. Good day," Ben ripped his arm out of Luke's grasp and hurried through the streets of Tuzanor. Luke didn't bother to follow. He knew what his answer was, and he knew whom he could discuss the situation with.

As soon as he got into his quarters, Luke took a shower, and dressed in a clean uniform. He put on a little cologne. Sitting in the brig gave him an appreciation for smelling good.

He collected his messages, one of which included a note from Ivanova detailing where to meet her and when. The others were junk, which he deleted from the system. He did some minor neatening and left for lunch.

"Hi," Luke said, joining Ivanova at the table where she sat.

"Hello, Luke. You're looking much better," Ivanova said.

"I have a pretty good outlook on life right now. It's different than being in the brig," Luke commented.

"I'm sorry about that. I should have trusted you, but I had to have the answer first," Ivanova said, averting her eyes from his.

"Please forget it. We have other things to talk about," Luke said.

"Yes we do. There's so much about you I don't know," Ivanova admitted.

"Ditto here," Luke smiled his Marcus smile. Ivanova couldn't help grinning also.

A Minbari waiter approached them. He carried a white towel in his left hand and a small square computer pad to record their orders in his right, "Hello, my name is Jodenn and I will be happy to take your order."

"I will take the Number Two and a glass of water, please," Luke spoke up.

"I would like the roasted tuber casserole," Ivanova decided, "Also, orange juice and that delicious round bread."

"The Dusset bread?" Jodenn asked.

"That's it," Ivanova confirmed.

"Very well, sir, madam. I shall have your orders ready momentarily," the waiter said, walking away.

"So, where to begin?" Susan asked Luke.

"I don't know. What about my father, can you tell me about him?" Luke suggested.

"Sure," Ivanova agreed, "His name's Marcus Cole. You remind me a lot of him. You have his same silly, happy grin. Mostly, you look like my brother Ganya, except for the goatee. He died in the Earth-Minbari War.

"I met Marcus a long time ago. I believe the year was 2259. He went into cryo in early 2261. He told me he grew up on Arissia Colony, and that Earth penalized them forty percent for the pleasure.

"You had an uncle who died. He was Marcus' older brother, and Marcus worshipped him. Marcus became a Ranger in order to grant his brother's dying request.

"I tried to contact his parents after he was placed in cryo, but he never told me their names. Arissia Colony wasn't much help. They couldn't find any Coles on record at that time, which I found baffling, but perhaps they moved after their sons had left…"

"I can read that in his record," Luke pointed out, "But what was he like?"

Susan resisted at first to answer the question. She hadn't really shared her memories or feelings for Marcus with anyone, except Stephen Franklin, all those years ago. She decided there was no point in keeping them to herself, either, and who better to share them with than his son. Their son.

She sat thinking as Jodenn arrived with their drinks and freshly baked Dusset bread. The round bread was made with sweet spices, which wafted easily to the diners' noses. It was brown on the outer crust, but Ivanova knew it to be soft, almost doughy inside, and a pale yellow from its ingredients. As Jodenn served them on bread plates, she observed the steam from the fresh bread. "Enjoy," he said softly as he walked away to check the status of other diners.

"Have you had Dusset bread before?" Susan asked Luke.

He shook his head.

"You have to try it; I love it."

Indulging the Entil'zha, Luke picked up his slice and ate it, then proceeded to follow the first slice with another. _Must be in the genes_, he thought to himself. Susan was smiling at him.

"Where were we?" Susan asked.

"Marcus…" Luke deliberately let the sentence peter out.

"Right. He was first and foremost loyal to Delenn, who was the Entil'zha at the time. He was usually quiet unless he was on a mission with just one other person, at which point he became annoyingly talkative. I think he was protective of me, but without showing it or trying to be the one ruling our friendship.

"On a subconscious level, I knew he loved me, but I was afraid to love him back. I couldn't let myself believe it," Susan paused, eating another slice of the Dusset bread, "During Earth's civil war I was supposed to die. I was quite surprised when I found him at my bedside, his lifeless head on my chest. And that damn machine was hooked up to him. Later, I cried my guts out to Doctor Franklin, having finally realized I'd loved Marcus all along and never gotten up the nerve to tell him.

"I always brushed him off. Except for once, during the Shadow War, when it was nice to just talk in all the hours of waiting. He was so patient with me, looking back. He wanted to help me when I had worries. He helped the Lurkers too, when he could and regularly used them as contacts," Susan stopped as Jodenn returned with a food-laden tray.

He served Ivanova her casserole first, and then gave Luke his meal, which turned out to be a bowl of meat stew and the Minbari variation of wild rice. Also on the tray were two pitchers with which he refilled their beverages. Jodenn politely walked away.

"Am I wearing you out, talking about Marcus?" Luke asked, "I don't want to upset you."

"I'm fine. I'm not that old," Susan remarked.

"Not at all," Luke agreed, "But there must be something you wanted to ask me."

"What's it like, being part of Psi Corp?" Susan asked.

"I was only with them six hours a day for two weeks, then we ran away. It was like school. I had to read and write essays just like the other kids, but when they had their afternoon exercises for their telepathic abilities, I was usually sent home or sent for physical education with one of the teachers.

"The other kids didn't like me much, and no one really talked to me. I was glad after my mom and I ran away. It took a couple of days to get used to being on the run, but I didn't like the Corp."

"Good. I hate them," Susan said quietly, paying more attention to her food than her son for a few minutes. She really didn't know what else to say to him.

"What should I call you?" Luke asked tentatively. He wasn't sure he should have asked. They both had curiosity about each other. He thought that given time, they could be close. Unless he had just asked her the one question that would make her reject him.

"I've been thinking about that," Susan began, "Aside from Rangers Baldwin and Myer, none of the Rangers know you're my son. Now that the facts are in, I won't mind if they find out or this information gets leaked.

"I think that for propriety's sake, when you and I are alone, you may call me Mom or Mother or whatever variation we find comfortable, but when others are around, I am to be addressed as Entil'zha."

Luke nodded, seeing the logic. He was gratified that she'd given him an answer.

Jodenn returned to ask if he could get them anything else, to which they both replied no. He nodded to them and walked away.

"I have to get back to headquarters. I put off one of my meetings, and I need to get to it in a few minutes," Susan said.

"There was another matter, Ranger business, that I needed to discuss with you," Luke said.

"Can it wait till tomorrow?" Ivanova asked him.

Luke nodded.

"Be there first thing at 0700 hours, and we can talk about it, okay?" Ivanova instructed him.

"That would be great," Luke agreed. Jodenn set the square computer with their tab on the table. Luke scooped it up before Susan could say anything. He raised his eyebrows when he noticed that his mother's meal was charged at a one hundred percent discount. He pulled his credit chit out of his uniform and, programming it to a fifty percent gratuity, handed both back to Jodenn. The Minbari entered a code into the computer and then swiped Luke's card. He thanked them both, bowing deeply, and left them.

"I was going to take care of that," Susan pointed out.

"Being Entil'zha sure has its perks, doesn't it?" Luke asked, grinning.

Susan smiled at him. She stood, and nodding to him, walked away. Respectfully, Luke stood, and then sat down when she had left his view. Luke was finishing his water when someone took the seat where the Entil'zha had just been.

"How'd it go?" Ben Flynn's voice assaulted him.

"What are you doing?" Luke yelled at him, irritated.

"What's wrong?"

"She left here not thirty seconds ago. I don't want her to see you anywhere near me," Luke said, glaring. He was trying his best to be sincere in his thoughts and in convincing Ben that, for now, he was interested.

"All right, relax." Ben said, trying to probe Luke's surface thoughts, "I won't let it happen again, and besides, she didn't even notice me."

"Well, I didn't have the chance to ask her," Luke admitted, secretly hoping Ben would not find out they were mother and son.

Ben could sense that Luke had a secret, and that his new friend was wigged out by Ben's presence. He couldn't read more into it, because Luke's thoughts were scattered and fast paced at the moment. Ben filed the moment away, in case he needed it later, but he could catch from Luke's main thoughts that he truly was afraid that Ben was ruining something, "I'm going to go now. You still have tomorrow to think about it. I won't get in your way again."

"Thank you," Luke said dryly, staring at his glass and refusing to look up until he heard the chair across from him slide back.

He began scrambling his thoughts when he'd spoken with Ben. There was something Flynn was keeping from him, and he didn't trust that the stranger wouldn't betray him at the first chance. He'd felt the same way when he was at Psi Corp.

When he tried to be a 'normal kid' around the other psi children, he was instantly odd man out. He was sectioned with the 1-3 level telepaths near his age. None would let him play with them. He quickly decided he didn't want to be around them, either.

He was used to the staring pretty quickly, but after a day or so, he realized they were reading his mind like a book, and he didn't like it. So while they thought he was playing ball on his own, he was thinking about as many different things as he possibly could: multiplication tables, the order of keys on the latest model keyboard, hand fighting strategies. Anything to throw them off balance and confuse them.

He could hear them discussing things to themselves, laughing. He didn't have to think so much when they were puzzling out the information he'd given them. He didn't doubt that a P10 or a P12 could probably still have read his true intent. After his experience with the Corp, he always scattered his thoughts with people he didn't trust, and he also did it when he was bored. Sitting in his cell in the brig had left him plenty of time for it.

When Ben confronted him, his brain had automatically started up again, as soon as he became anxious. He decided to hang out with as many Rangers as he could until he found out whether or not he was going to Mars. That way his new friend was sure to keep away from him, and Luke wouldn't have to try so hard to hide his true objective.

Mac Myer looked up from the report he was entering into the system on his trip to and from Earth as he heard someone enter the small corner office he had in the Ranger compound. Surprise showed in his eyes as he gazed into Luke Zaxtin's. A day had passed since Luke was freed from his imprisonment and since Mac had returned to Minbar.

"Can I help you, Mister Zaxtin?" Mac inquired, still puzzled by the young Ranger's appearance in his office.

"Sir, I know you don't think highly of me, and I am sorry I put you to all that trouble," Luke paused, noting the yellow, black and blue marks on the man's face, "But, I was wondering if I could get an assignment for the next day or so. Nothing very important, I'd just like to be around other Rangers now," Luke said, hoping Myer would take him seriously.

"They can always use help in the kitchens. Mess hall's always open. Can you work the late dinner through early breakfast shift today?" Mac suggested, consulting the chronometer on his vid screen.

"Sir, I have a meeting with—" Luke prevented himself from saying 'my mother' just in time, "With the Entil'zha at 0700, but I'm free till then."

"Very well, get to the kitchen at 20:00, and stay put until 05:00 tomorrow, okay? I'll put you on the schedule. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you," Mac smiled at Zaxtin, glad for the Ranger's eagerness to return to normality. Aside from the meeting with Ranger One. Not many first year Rangers had the privilege of meeting with her, not for years later. None of the others had her for their mother, either.

"Of course, thank you, sir," Luke turned to go.

"Luke, wait." Mac said, his conscience nagging him.

Luke turned back to his superior.

"You can call me Mac. This has been a shock for both you and the Entil'zha. I know you didn't mean any harm, and as for my injuries," Mac rubbed his now whole right arm, "They were sustained for her, too."

"Okay, Mac," Luke nodded, "Thanks for understanding."

Mac watched the young man retreat. There was nothing more to be said. Mac did not blame anyone but Psi Corp for putting both the Entil'zha and the young Ranger through these paces. He agreed it would be best to keep Luke on low-key, low priority assignments until things calmed down.

Susan Ivanova stared silently at the wall ahead of her as her top thirty Rangers entered the room. She had an explanation to give, and she was trying to arrange her thoughts to her satisfaction.

"Please sit." Ivanova said to those waiting. Susan had asked her secretary to call a meeting with the Rangers who were department heads and to schedule it at the end of the day.

All the members were seated, Mac and Mitch included, and also Mitch's wife Diana. Ivanova stood, pacing the front of the room. She wasn't sure where to start, so she decided to just open her mouth and go for it.

Looking at no one in particular, she began, "I know you all are busy, and I will try to keep this short. Some of you know the whole story; some don't, so I'll start at the top.

"About two weeks ago, one of the new Rangers, fresh out of recruit training dropped off to me a data crystal. Of course I viewed it. There appeared a woman on the screen, telling me that one of the Rangers is my son. I'm not going to go into all the details, but it turns out that she was right.

"Ranger Luke Zaxtin is my son. His father is Marcus Cole. He's to be treated as any other Ranger would be, no special privileges. Any screw-ups go through regular channels. I don't want him or myself pestered if possible, so if you see it, stop it immediately.

"I admit that I did put him into the brig until his DNA was confirmed. I thought it was necessary," Susan paused as the Rangers had begun murmuring agreement. She knew they wouldn't disagree with her, but it was a comforting sound, all the same.

"I have been hearing all sorts of rumors floating around in the last few days, and I want them to stop. Having this sort of gossip running around isn't going to get anything positive done. Feel free to dispense the information to the Rangers in your charge, and if they have any further questions, they can come to me.

"Do any of you have questions now?" Ivanova knew she was leaving herself exposed, but she wanted as much of the undiluted truth in her Rangers' hands as possible.

A Ranger in the middle of the group raised a hand.

"Yes, Mr. West?" Ivanova invited his question. Dean West was a long time veteran of the Rangers.

"Everyone wants to know, at least people I speak with, how this possibly happened," Dean said as simply as he could.

"Let's just say that Psi Corps managed to get hold of my DNA and Marcus' without our consent and leave it at that," Ivanova said. The more general she could keep her answers the better it would be, she decided.

"Yes ma'am," Dean replied, tapping notes into his palm computer.

"Anyone else?" Ivanova said. No one spoke up, "Then this meeting is adjourned."

The Rangers stood, glad that the meeting had been brief. They calmly filed out of the room. Ivanova wondered if she had done the right thing.

Luke was waiting in Susan's office when she walked in the door at five minutes after seven in the morning. He was in his Ranger uniform, as expected, and looking like he had spent the night working.

"What have you been up to?" Susan asked him, sipping at her hot coffee, which had been waiting for her on her desk.

"Oh, I got assigned to the Mess for the dusk to dawn shift. I wanted to stay low key for a little while," Luke said.

Susan grunted her agreement, sipping the hot drink; "I'm no good without my morning coffee."

"I don't blame you, this is kind of early," Luke said.

"What did you need?"

"I met someone the other day who wants me to defect. He seems to be holding information back from me, so I don't really trust him, but I am interested enough to let him lead me along for a little while," Luke began.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Susan asked.

"After I was released from the brig, a man named Ben Flynn approached me about quitting the Rangers and working for some friends of his on Mars. He said they could use my Ranger training and that I had been treated unfairly…of course, I know better," Luke said, "We are supposed to leave tomorrow morning at dawn."

"What have you told him?"

"First, I told him to stay out of sight of you, so he would think I was jumpy. I told him I would think about the offer. I wanted to check it out with you," Luke said.

Susan saw curiosity and willingness in her son's brown eyes, "You said you thought he was holding back information on you?"  
"Yes," Luke confirmed nodding his head. He desperately wanted to find out what was going on, but he needed her say so. Subconsciously, he leaned forward in his chair, hoping for the answer he wanted.

"I think you should go, pretend you've quit the Rangers, find out what is going on and send me a message as soon as you are bound for Minbar again. Go along with them, but only for about a week, then I'll want you out of there," Susan said, intrigued by what anyone on Mars would want with a disgruntled Ranger. A green one at that.

"You don't want me to report in while I'm on Mars?"

"Only if you must, but I want this to be as real as possible, and there are a hundred ways to track outgoing calls on Mars. Would be safer if you stayed out of communications with us."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll notify your supervisors here that I am sending you on a mission…they want you, they'll get you. It takes a week to get there, and a week to get back, so I'll expect to see you in three," Susan rose to see him out.

"Sounds good," Luke said, meeting her gaze with his.

"Be careful," Susan said, hugging him briefly, "And try to make it back, OK?"

"I will, ma'am," Luke smiled. He kept smiling all the way down the hall. His mother had accepted him! She'd hugged him, even if it was for only a second or two.

Susan sat at her desk and hoped to Hell Luke would be okay. She had only known him a few days, and yet was already attached to him. She couldn't explain it to herself. Absently, she sent a written message for Rangers Myer and Baldwin to report to her office at their leisure.

Mitch and Mac were together eating breakfast in Mitch's office when the message from Ivanova came in, his vid screen flashing 'New Message'. Putting down his fork, Mitch read it.

"There's a carbon copy waiting for you in your office, Mac," Mitch informed his friend. Lee came into the office from the spot where he lounged in the hall, hoping for people food. Mitch brushed him away.

"Well, let's go," Mac said, always putting business before pleasure. He shoved his plate away and stood.

"Damn it, wait, Mac!" Mitch said, frustrated. Lee stood, looking for the source of Mitch's irritation.

"What? What is it?"

"I bet this is serious. You know, when I switched positions from presidential bodyguard to Senior House Guard Supervisor, it was supposed to mean fewer special assignments. Now I get them all the time," Mitch whined.

"She's still the boss, and we are Rangers first; supervisors second…you know that," Mac tried to console his long time friend.

"I know," Mitch lamented, "But if this has to do with Zaxtin, and I'm sure it does, I'm not going to be able to take Marc and Bekka hiking tomorrow."

"There'll be another time," Mac assured him.

"Well, one thing I know for certain," Mitch said emphatically.

"Hmmm, what's that?" Mac inquired.

"I'm finishing my breakfast first. That note did say at your leisure," Mitch said, sitting down to resume his meal.

"Leisure means as soon as possible, I'm sure," Mac hassled his friend.

"Well, it will be possible," Mitch said, "As soon as I've had breakfast, so you may as well finish yours before it gets cold."

Mac harrumphed once more at Mitch and did as his friend asked him to do. He was sure the Entil'zha wouldn't start before both of them were there. Lee flopped down by the desk, disappointed, and waited for action.

Just before 08:00 hours, Rangers Baldwin and Myer, along with Lee, were again in the office of the Entil'zha. They wondered what the assignment would be.

"Thank you for arriving promptly, gentlemen. You may sit down, if you want," Susan said.

"Thank you," both men said sitting. Lee sat on his haunches, too. Susan raised an eyebrow at the dog, and then got back to business.

"I have a mission for you, and I'll need you to leave first thing tomorrow morning. Can you handle that?"

Inwardly, Mitch groaned, but replied, "Not a problem."

"Yes, Entil'zha," was Mac's response.

"Ranger Zaxtin is going to Mars to find out why someone is looking to recruit a disgruntled Ranger. I want you to follow him, keep him out of trouble if you can. He doesn't know you are going, so stay out of his way unless he is in dire trouble.

"I want people to think you are going on vacation to Mars, so no uniforms. If anyone asks, you are amateur archeologists, going to a dig. Here are folders with basic information on the history of Mars archeology to date."

"So this is pure surveillance?" Mitch asked.

"Yes, if something happens, I want one of you bound for Minbar, and the other stays to keep an eye on the situation, and help if you can. This shouldn't take more than three weeks. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," they both said.

"Report back to me on your way back from Mars, unless you need to do so before then. You're both dismissed," Ivanova said, nodding at them. The duo rose and left to prepare for the trip. Lee followed behind.

Ben Flynn had just finished packing when there was a knock. He assumed it was the food he'd ordered, and opened the door to his room without questioning who might be there. Luke Zaxtin stood in his doorway, staring at him wordlessly.

"Come in," Ben said calmly, trying to read the man's mind and discover how he knew where Ben was staying. Luke's thoughts were again a mad scramble. Luke made himself comfortable on the bed.

"How did you find me?" Ben asked.

"I have my connections too, you know. Wasn't hard to pick up your trail," Luke answered.

"I assume your being here would mean you are going to meet me tomorrow?" Ben inferred.

"Yep. I'll be there. Where will we meet?" Zaxtin replied, grinning.

"Gate Nine. The tickets are for the transport at Gate Nine. Be there at 07:00, and I'll be there," Ben said. He wasn't able to clearly read anything Zaxtin was thinking about. It was starting to bother him. He was getting tempted to take further steps, but stopped himself. His job was to get the man to Mars, not read his mind. He'd leave that for a P10 or 12 or whomever they planned to assign.

"Good," Luke said, still smiling, he rose from the bed, "See you then."

A Minbari arrived with Ben's food as Luke left. Ben frowned after Zaxtin, irritated by the man's sudden appearance, and ease at throwing off his telepathy.

"Something wrong with the room, sir?" the Minbari asked.

"No, go." Ben said gruffly. The Minbari turned on his heel, not bothering to bow.

Mitch sat at the dinner table with his wife and children, eating a fine meal. Diana was the main cook in the household. If he had to, Mitch could scrounge a meal, but he'd rather have her cooking. And the kids preferred hers too.

At the moment, Marcus and Rebekah were arguing about the last of the casserole. Mitch smiled as his son and daughter argued about the trivial. Diana tried to intervene, but as always, the effort was mostly useless.

"Daddy! Tell Marc to share with me! He's being a hog!" Rebekah, age ten, was hollering at the top of her lungs.

"Am not, Bekka's not even done with what's on her plate," Marcus replied calmly.

"How about I eat the rest, then you two don't have to worry about that," Mitch suggested slyly, giving his son a pleading look.

"Daddy!" Rebekah called in shock.

"All right, half!" Marcus, who was thirteen, capitulated to his sister, not wanting to lose out completely.

"How diplomatic of you, Marc," Mitch complimented his eldest child sarcastically.

"No problem, Dad," Marcus replied seriously with his quick wit.

Mitch just frowned and continued eating. Maybe Mars would be more peaceful. He had told Diana about it earlier that afternoon. She wasn't pleased, but it was his job. She served as vice principal and one of the teachers at the school not too far from Ranger HQ. They had agreed to discuss the matter with the children during dinner, at some point. Now seemed to be the moment.

"Marc, Bekka, listen to me a minute, will you?" Mitch began.

"Yeah Dad?" Marcus put down his fork.

"Yeah?" Rebekah's voice echoed.

"Look, I hate to tell you this on short notice, but I can't take you hiking tomorrow, as planned," Mitch said, hating to let his children down.

"Aw, dad!" Marcus' reaction was immediate.

"Why not?" Rebekah asked.

"The Entil'zha is sending me to Mars. I have to go," Mitch said softly.

"Is Lee going?" Rebekah asked.

"You know he won't stay behind," Mitch answered.

"Can't you go the next day?" Marcus tried to reason with him.

"No, son, there are three of us going, they can't wait for me," Mitch said. The children did not question him further, eating in disappointed silence. They cleared their plates automatically, then went to their rooms instead of vying for a vid to watch as they usually did.

Mitch and Diana worked together on the dishes, their children still on Mitch's mind. He considered again retiring from the Rangers. Still, he had to admit that he would enjoy his stint on Mars, much as he resisted it.

"I've got to get ready to go. Take off is at 09:00," Mitch said after the last dish had been dealt with.

"That late? I thought Luke's ship took off at 07:00?"

"It does, we're going to follow him without him knowing, so we have to leave later. We put a jump bug on him so we can find him after we land," Mitch explained. The jump bug was programmed to go active in one week, after both parties arrived on Mars. Two hours later, it would go dead, and be useless, as if it had dropped off him.

"Clever," Diana commented.

Mitch packed seven days of clothes in a duffel bag, along with some other personal items. He changed into his nightclothes, and sat on the bed, hoping that the trip would pass quickly, or that, at least, he wouldn't get tired of having Mac and Lee in close quarters for a few weeks.

Diana came in a while later. At that moment, he realized he must have been sitting on the bed in meditation for some time. He thought she was going to follow him up after the dishes were taken care of.

"What have you been doing?" Mitch asked her.

"I was just cleaning up a little. This place gets out of hand sometimes. The kids try, but they're still kids," Diana said.

"How long have I been up here?"

"An hour."

"Good, not as long as I thought, so to speak," Mitch said, smiling at her.

"Kids are ready for bed, are you going to say goodnight?"

"Yes, I should go do that." Mitch said, walking down the hall to Marcus' room. His son already had the light low and lay on his back with one arm over his eyes, "Marc?"

"Yeah?" Marcus said, not moving.

"Good night," Mitch said, giving up for the night. Marcus was not usually this sober. He could still tell him goodbye in the morning.

"Good night, Dad," Marcus said, waving his free hand over the lamp, shutting it off.

Shrugging, Mitch made his way to his daughter's room. She was reading something from her computer pad. She looked up when he walked into the room.

"Hi Daddy," she said quietly.

"Hi, sweetheart," Mitch said, joining her on her bed, "Time to go to sleep."

"I know. I just have to finish this paragraph," Rebekah said. Mitch humored her, waiting until she was done. At least she didn't seem so upset anymore, and she was talking to him.

"I'm really sorry about tomorrow," Mitch said, tucking her in.

"It's okay." Rebekah said calmly, "I just want you to come home fast."

"Kids still upset with you?" Diana asked when he returned to their room. She had already changed for bed.

"Marc is. I think Bekka is okay already."

"That's not so bad," Diana said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply, "Now, let's go to bed."

"Mmmm kay," Mitch turned to close the door to their room, and then turned back to his wife and the pleasures that awaited him.

Ben Flynn paced irritably in front of Gate Nine the following morning. It was ten minutes after the hour, and Zaxtin was late. He couldn't leave without the other man and the shuttle was already boarding. Then he felt Luke's mind nearby and closing at full speed, thoughts scrambling every second. Ben picked up that the other was in a hurry and anxious.

"There you are," Ben called as Luke came into view.

"Good, you're still here," Luke said, out of breath, "Sorry I'm late, missed my alarm."

"It's all right, but we better get going…do you want to check your bag?" Ben suspected Luke was trying to fool him somehow, but he still couldn't pick up Luke's thoughts. Suddenly, he got an intense emotion from Luke of wanting to just get away from Minbar as much as possible.

"I'll carry it on, it's not heavy," Luke said. He calmed down his thinking, distracted by his mind being a blur and concentrated on what he really wanted, to get his mission under way. So he thought of leaving Minbar as fast as possible.

"Okay, let's go, it's a week away from Mars, this route, so we might as well get comfortable," Ben said, relieved that he was finally picking up something from his charge.

"I agree. Will be nice not to have to work my ass off for these damned Ranger idiots anymore," Luke agreed, playing the part.

"Yeah, they're a real thorn in everyone's side," Ben smiled, feeling Luke's anger. Psi Corps had really picked a winner in the man. Whatever his associates wanted, Ben was sure Luke would give them.

Once aboard the shuttle, Ben and Luke went to find their quarters for the duration of the trip. They were assigned rooms next to each other: 205 and 207. Luke was glad to get his duffel off his shoulder and take a brief shower in the super economy sized bathroom. He hadn't woken in time to clean up that morning.

A few minutes later, his door chime went off.

"Yes!" Luke called through the door.

"Can I come in a minute?" Ben requested.

"Open," Luke ordered the door. His shirt lay on the bed with his socks. He had just barely managed getting his pants on.

"Sorry to intrude," Ben said sincerely.

"It's okay, what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know, now that you've signed on—"

"For the time being," Luke interjected.

"Right. So since you are with us for now, I wanted to tell you that you aren't under any pressure right now. We don't have to hang out. Except at dinner every night," Ben stipulated.

"Why's that…I mean, I know this trip is on your associates, but why dinner every night?"

"I just want to keep in touch with you on our trip, make sure everything is satisfactory, and relieve some boredom," Ben said the last with a laugh.

"Yeah, this isn't exactly a pleasure cruise," Luke agreed, putting his shirt on, "Dinner it is."

"Great," Ben said. Dinner would afford him the opportunity to figure out how to read Luke and his scrambled thoughts better.

Mitch awoke sleepily at 07:00 on the morning of his departure. He was glad he had packed the night before, because he didn't think he could even put two sentences together or do much beyond getting a shower and getting dressed.

He rolled over, feeling for Diana in the bed. He only reached on into her pillow. Mitch laughed to himself—normally, he was the morning person. Groaning, he got up and showered, not wanting to do anything at all that day.

Mitch had just finished dressing when Diana came into their bedroom, looking for him. He was feeling revitalized after the warm shower. Probably the last real one for three weeks.

"Hi gorgeous," Mitch said, engulfing her in his arms.

"Hi yourself," Diana said back, nestling her head under his chin, "Are you going on that trip today or not? Breakfast is ready and Mac will be here soon, if you are."

"Yes dear," Mitch said, resigned, "I'm just a little tired. YOU wore me out last night."

Diana laughed manically, her head jiggling on his chest, "YOU asked for it."

"Sure got my mind off of everything I've been thinking about lately. I'm going to hang on to last night until I get back. I don't know how I'll get through three whole weeks without you," Mitch said, caressing her face, as if he had to memorize every feature. After twenty years, this was unnecessary, but he still did it, lingering as long as he could.

"I'll miss you, too," Diana admitted, "C'mon. You have to eat, and say goodbye to the kids."

Mitch nodded, following her down the stairs. Marcus and Rebekah were on the couch in front of the vid monitor, watching some sort of animated vid. Mitch couldn't keep track of their favorites, but this was one of them. It amazed him how, the night before, they were at odds with each other, and now they sat, side by side under a blanket, eating their breakfasts and laughing at the silly vid.

Lee had been lying at the children's feet, looking for stray 'people food', but got up and joined Mitch at the kitchen table. A few minutes later, Marcus and Rebekah trailed in with their dishes, setting them on the floor for a grateful Lee.

"Hey guys," Mitch greeted his children.

Both helloed him back.

"C'mere, I have to say goodbye now, because as soon as I'm done eating, I have to get my gear and leave. So you both behave for your mother, okay?"

He received two serious nods from both children.

"Okay, give your old man a hug, and I won't bother you anymore," Mitch said, waiting expectantly for his children to step forward.

"The kids are in a good mood this morning. Marcus seems to be over it, even," Mitch said once the kids had gone and Diana came into the kitchen.

Diana smiled, "That's because I told them that I would take them hiking today."

"You're a good mother, and an even better wife," Mitch said, kissing her forehead, "I have to go."

"Okay. You're going to contact us, right?" Diana asked, still holding onto him.

"Of course…looking the part of a tourist and all. Probably a couple of times on the shuttle…every day while I'm on Mars, and then a couple of times on the way back," Mitch said.

"Good. The kids will like that," Diana nodded.

"Yeah, so will I. You know how boring Mac gets sometimes?" Mitch laughed. Diana laughed too, letting go of him slowly. Both heard their door chime sound. That Lee wasn't barking meant it was a family friend. Then they both heard the same excited yell from the children, "Uncle Mac!"

Mitch and Diana walked out to the living room and saw Mac, Rebekah on his left hip. With his right hand, he was pumping Marcus' up and down.

"Hi Mitch, Diana, and good morning," Mac greeted them.

"You've got your hands full," Mitch pointed out.

"I know," Mac said.

"Rebekah, you are getting too big to be hanging on your uncle Mac like that," Diana chided her daughter.

Mac smiled, "It's okay. I don't come over and spoil my godchildren enough."

Rebekah giggled and Mac put her down. Marcus devoted his attention to Lee, with one long hug before he left. Mac reached into one of his pockets and pulled out two bags of candy for the children.

He was answered by two voices saying, "Thanks Uncle Mac!"

"Yeah, thanks 'Uncle Mac'," Diana ribitted, "Guess who gets to stay home with these two on their sugar high?"

Mitch and Mac both laughed.

"We have to go," Mitch said, and then turned to his children to ask them, "Will you help Uncle Mac load my gear into the hovcar?"

The children obeyed, Marcus taking the large duffel bag and Rebekah grabbing a smaller piece of luggage.

Mitch grabbed Diana and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back, and finally, after a moment or two, they broke the kiss.

"I love you," Mitch said and trotted out of the house.

"You too," she called after him. The kids came back in a moment later, nagging her to get going on the hike.

Ben Flynn was waiting for Luke to appear at his usual table in the dining hall. The telepath didn't have much to do on the trip, and was always early for dinner. He had bought a magazine at the start of the trip, and another one every day.

Luke had had no trouble keeping occupied. In fact, his goings on ruled the dinner conversation. He had taken up with a girl named Rinna.

The two usually sat at a table across from Ben's during breakfast and lunch. On the second day of the trip, Luke offered to introduce Ben to one of Rinna's female companions, but Ben declined. He didn't fit in with this crowd, and it was best for him to keep to himself.

Luke merely said good morning and hello at breakfast and lunch and let Ben be. Luke always showed up for dinner…not as early as Ben, but on time, as promised. At least the new guy wasn't changing his mind and wanting to go back to Minbar. And he had opened his thoughts more, trusting Ben more, it seemed, and not bothering with that irritating thought scrambling. Luke never indicated that he did not trust Ben, not orally anyway.

Even as he checked his chrono, Luke walked up to their table. The ship was a small cruiser. Three decks were accessible to the passengers via crystals keyed to them. The passengers were all crammed in economy suites, but the other two decks contained a dining room, ballroom, exercise facilities, a casino, and a few common rooms where the passengers could look out at hyperspace and talk with each other.

Luke was dressed semi casually in slacks, a dress shirt and shoes. A tie wasn't required, and he hated them. He had worn one to the first few dinners than decided not to worry about one anymore after he'd seen what some other passengers were wearing at meals.

"Hi Ben, waiting long?" Luke asked. The server had been lingering nearby, and approached the duo to take their orders once Luke was seated.

"No, I haven't been here too long. I like to watch people coming in, going out, you know," Ben replied. The other man's surface thoughts indicated he was in a good mood today, same as the rest of the week.

"Ah yes, Ben, the people-watcher. What do you plan to do with these observations, write a novel maybe?" Luke joked.

Ben laughed, "Perhaps."

"So, tomorrow afternoon is going to be busy," Luke said.

"Yes, we'll be landing on Mars. My employer will have a hovcar waiting," Ben explained. Luke seemed to be excited about the meeting.

"Fancy."

"They have the funds for it, who am I to argue, right?"

"You got it," Luke agreed.

"Is Rinna going to join us after we land?" Ben inquired of his companion. There was something intimate going on with that girl, but Luke hadn't opened up to him on that front. Just as well. Ben was a loner and didn't want to hear about someone else's exploits.

"I didn't think she could. Really, it's not serious. We already have our good-byes planned. We're having a goodbye party at lunch tomorrow. You should join us for this one. Rinna said you're welcome to, if you want," Luke said.

"Maybe I will. Afterward, I could pack and grab a nap before we land," Ben said. He wanted to try and be agreeable with Luke. Being a stick in the mud was not helping their friendship much. Not that Ben planned on staying Luke's friend, but for appearances it would help.

"Great. I'll tell her later," Luke said, digging into the meal that had just arrived.

"You're seeing her later?" Ben asked.

"Well, a few of us are getting together for a card game tonight…last night on ship and all. I didn't think you'd be interested…are you?" Luke said, trying to save the faux pas of not inviting his companion.

"No, you go ahead. I have things to be doing tonight. I'm not much of a bettor, anyway," Ben declined. He knew for sure that if he went to that game, he'd be reading minds, and he didn't want that. A crowd would nail him for a telepath, and he was told to keep that to himself.

"All right then," Luke said, continuing with his meal.

Ben and Luke conversed a while longer, as they ate dessert. They had other interests in common: both liked football and baseball and the fact that when one ended the other was starting up again. They hated Brussels sprouts, and they both loved the beach. As the meal wound up, Luke spotted Rinna at the bar and went to talk to her. Content with his dinner, which he mostly picked at, Ben retired to his suite.

Luke was glad to get away from Ben. He hated being friendly with the guy, and was glad in his mind that he only had to "behave" once a day. Somewhere along the line, he had convinced his brain to trust Ben, and realized his thought scrambling had stopped when he was around the man.

Now he had his escape from the evening, the beautiful Rinna. She was a couple of years older than Luke and proportioned in all the right places. She wore a black skirt that came to a stop just above her knees, and high heels on her feet. Her short-sleeved, yellow and black blouse matched perfectly with her skirt and jet colored hair. She wore a pair of small oval diamond earrings. Her eyes were brown. Luke was five feet nine inches tall…minus her shoes, Rinna was five feet seven inches.

"Hi Rinna," Luke greeted her.

"Hey baby," Rinna said, staring down into her wineglass.

"What's got you so down?" Luke sat next to her, waiting eagerly for a response.

"I just wish this trip were longer, I mean, I didn't want to have feelings for you, but I do," Rinna said softly. Luke hugged her to him.

"I know, I feel the same way, but it won't work out. I don't even know what I'm getting into when I get to Mars," Luke admitted.

"Yes. We talked about that. My brain was listening, guess my heart wasn't," Rinna said.

"Let's go back to your suite tonight, instead of hanging out with your friends," Luke suggested, offering the barkeep his credit chit to pay for Rinna's drink, "We'll have our own special goodbye before tomorrow."

Rinna merely nodded her head and let him lead her out of the dining room.

Mitch sighed as he entered the suite he and Mac had booked for their trip. It included two beds, a full bathroom, a closet, and a small refrigeration unit. It was now their sixth night out from Minbar. He was getting itchy to be on planet, and not moving through hyperspace anymore. He was too antsy to eat much for dinner. Mac was reading on his bed, and greeted his friend as Mitch came in. Lee waited for the doggie bag from dinner.

"Good thing I wasn't very hungry this trip, boy," Mitch petted the dog's head, then gave him the leftovers on a plate.

Lee gulped the food greedily, his rear end wagging. Mitch rolled his eyes.

Accessing the terminal, Mitch placed a call to home, hoping it was not too early or too late…in hyperspace, you never knew what time you were calling to. Diana's face was on the screen moments later, the second time since he'd left Minbar. They talked for a while, this time it was afternoon, not middle of the night, so he was able to speak to both children briefly.

The conversation ended, and Mitch let go a long sigh.

"What's wrong?" Mac probed.

"Nothing really," Mitch said, perking up a little.

"What did Diana have to report?"

"Everyone's okay. I got to talk to the kids. Marc broke his leg showing off for a girl "

"But he's okay? It doesn't hurt?"

"It doesn't really hurt. Diana has him on pain medicine and has kept him out of school a couple of days," Mitch frowned.

"Well, we're almost to Mars. Then we can get home, and you back to your children and your life."

"I hope this is really that easy," Mitch said, believing it totally.

"It will be," Mac promised, "At least you have someone to call home to," Mac said.

"At least you don't have anyone to worry about back on Minbar," Mitch argued.

"There's that…but at times I wish I did," Mac complained.

"You're a workaholic," Mitch pointed out, "You would never be home, anyway."

"That's too true. Maybe I should change that after we get back," Mac agreed.

"That will be two of us making changes when we get back home. For now, I'm going to take a shower and hit the sack," Mitch stated as he picked up the plate Lee had licked clean.

Mars was red, dusty and as barren as Luke remembered it being seven months prior. The city was still there and busy, but all its surrounds appeared unchanged and as unappealing as when he had left. Ben was right about the car that would be waiting for them..

The previous evening had been wonderful for Luke. He had spent it and part of the morning with Rinna. They almost missed breakfast, sliding into the diningroom just before 1000. Ben had not been around. At the luncheon party, Rinna was already distancing herself from him, but still friendly. By the time he disembarked, she seemed to be warming up to another passenger who was disembarking. Luke had smiled. He didn't want her to be lonely.

The vehicle stopped at a five-story building that was silver in color and had fat square windows on all sides. The technology was standard in that the windows would automatically reduce the glare of the Sun when too much light was reflecting. The dome over the city kept the building itself from becoming too hot. The only writing on the building was PMARS10.

Upon entering the foyer and then the elevator with Ben, Luke's mind began its automatic scramble. He was feeling uneasy in this new situation. Ben and Luke had not spoken since they departed the shuttle that had brought them. Luke thought he might ask some questions, but he couldn't think of any, and Ben seemed as content as ever, but suddenly tight lipped.

They went up three floors, down a hall and entered a door on the left. Nothing was marked or numbered. Luke supposed one learned how to get about by rote memory.

Inside the office was a long table. Six men sat on one side. Following Ben's lead, he sat opposite them.

"Hello, Lucas Zaxtin," said a man who appeared to be of African decent. His skin was dark brown. His hair was a thick black interlaced with gray, and his voice was deep. He seemed to be near fifty or sixty.

"Yes hello, Lucas," another man greeted him. Luke could not make out his nationality. His hair was gray with some black, and his skin was a light olive, unwrinkled, except for his face. The eyes and mouth were where time showed itself. Luke supposed this man was also fifty or sixty years old.

"Hi," Luke said still in the dark about why he was there.

"Mister Flynn, you may go," the first man said to Ben. Without a word, Ben nodded and left.

"You have some questions…such as why you are here…we're going to answer those. My name is Jerry Stakes," the first man said.

"I am called Zeb Parris," the olive skinned man said, "The two on my left are Ian Dodger and Cooper Needans."

Luke quietly took in Dodger and Needans. They appeared to be of Asian decent, possibly cousins, but the lights in the room were dimmer than Luke preferred. Both had long silky black hair, one in a ponytail, one not. Luke guessed both to be in their early thirties. They stared ahead silently, not even looking at the newcomer.

"The two on my right are Newton Swan and Shamarr Nasca," Stakes added, completing the list of those seated.

Swan and Nasca stared straight ahead, unwilling to give Luke the time of day. Swan was also of African descent, his skin a shade lighter than Stakes'. Luke thought he might be forty. Nasca had long green hair in five braids down her back. Her skin was pale white, her eyes a luminous, and probably faux, purple. She was probably near thirty-five.

After a moment of silence, Luke probed, "So, why am I here? Why have you chosen me? Ben wouldn't tell me anything on the way here."

"Good," Parris said, "Those were his orders. You are here because we want to hire you for a job."

"What job?" Luke demanded instantly.

"We want Susan Ivanova dead," Stakes said.

Luke stood, "I told Ben, no killing!"

"Calm down, please," Parris said, "You don't have to kill her, please sit down."

"Now I really am confused," Luke said, frustrated, his mind scrambling thoughts faster than ever.

"We merely wish you to get her into the open, where we can take her out," Parris explained further.

"I don't know if I can do that," Luke said, "I just resigned from the Rangers. I even have all my paperwork here. I don't think they'll take me back."

"They will if you are very sorry," Stakes said confidently.

"She's out in the open all the time, anyway," Luke said, "I don't understand."

"On Minbar she is, but she is always surrounded by other Rangers or in the city. We need her where the population is….less dense," Stakes explained.

"I'm not sure…can I think it over? I just got off Minbar," Luke stalled.

Stakes and Parris looked up and down the table, getting imperceptible nods from the other four.

"Agreed," Stakes said, "Newton will help you to your quarters."

In silence, the two left the room. Luke's bag waited for him outside the door, and he picked it up as Newton led him to the left down the hall.

"Awful quiet around here," Luke noted, as he had also noticed there weren't many people walking the halls.

"Not really," Newton spoke quietly.

"What do you mean? And what is the name of this place, anyway?" Luke inquired.

"This is Corporation Ten, or Ten Corp as we like to call it," Newton informed him.

"And it's usually not so quiet around here?"

"This is a Tuesday afternoon. Many of our members are on … assignment."

"Ah, I see. Well, where can I grab dinner in a little while?"

"The cafeteria is on the first floor," Newton remarked, "Or you can wander the dome, if you'd like."

"Ten Corp owns this whole building?" Luke wanted to know.

"No, we lease it with another tenant," Netwon seemed to be getting irritated by Luke's questions, but still the young man probed.

"Really, who?"

"Can't say, and I'll probably never know, at any rate. Your quarters are here," Newton said, turning to his right and stopping. Luke stopped right behind him.

"Okay."

"Key card. They'll call you when they want you," Newton handed him the card and turned to go.

"Stakes and Parris?" Luke stopped him. Newton's parting shot was a slow nod. Luke turned from him, swiped his card through the slot and entered his quarters.

Luke had no trouble finding a place to eat just a few blocks from Ten Corp. He thought about calling Minbar, or contacting the Ranger outpost on Mars, but decided he would wait to find out his exact mission. When he arrived back at his quarters, he found a vid to watch and unexpectedly fell asleep to it.

Somewhere in the early morning, two men Luke didn't recognize broke into his quarters and grabbed him roughly from where he'd fallen asleep on the couch. He looked at them, bewildered by the break in and the noise.

"What's going on!" he cried uselessly.

"Shut up or we'll make you," the one on his right said as they dragged him along.

Prudently, Luke obeyed.

He soon found himself in the conference room he had first been taken to. The six were still there, or there again: Parris, Dodger, Needans, Stakes, Swan, and Nasca. The lights were low; he could see a foot in front of himself and the dim table lit only where the group was seated. He only saw their hands folded, unable to make out faces.

"What is this!" Luke demanded after his captors made him sit with a rough shove.

"This, Mr. Zaxtin, is where we both quit playing stupid," Stakes said evenly.

"What?" Luke asked. He couldn't reason out how pulling him drowsily from his quarters was justified by Stakes' statement.

"You wanted time to think about the job we were giving you," Parris said, "We know why you want that time. We know Susan Ivanova is your mother."

Luke was at a loss as his mind raced, scrambling his thoughts and effectively blocking them from the six in front of him. The Psi Corp would know his parentage. Anybody else should not have that information. He stared at Stakes and Parris numbly.

"That's right, we're telepaths, Mr. Zaxtin. All of us between P10 and P12," Stakes admitted.

"But Psi Corp is no more," Luke said, his mouth going dry. He felt himself begin to panic. Being on the run from Psi Corp had been his top priority growing up, now all that time spent hiding was a waste. They had him.

"That's where you are wrong. Psi Corp was not disbanded, but fractured. We are one of the biggest sects," Parris said coldly.

"So what now?" Luke asked, trying to get his bearings.

"We obviously can't trust you. We might have, if we hadn't found that you were trying to trap us first," Stakes said. Aside from Newton, none of the other table members had spoken to Luke. He guessed they were speaking in thoughts to each other, and didn't have to bother troubling to speak.

"I haven't—" Luke said, trying his best to defend himself.

Parris cut him off, "Bring the lights up."

Luke closed his eyes, opening them gradually. He could see the six across from him clearly now. He didn't know how the lights would help; he merely stared at Parris, waiting for the next edict.

"Mr. Zaxtin, kindly adjust your stare to the far right wall, if you will," Parris requested.

Luke obliged him, and his face turned to shock when he saw Mac Myer and Mitch Baldwin both bound to chairs and gagged. Their binds were so tight, he would never have known they were in the room if the lights had stayed low.

All six telepaths laughed. Parris stopped laughing first, his countenance one of cold determination. The others soon became serious again.

"What are they doing here?" Luke questioned him.

"That's what we'd like to know," Stakes said, "You had them follow you, didn't you? How many more Rangers are you sending?"

"I didn't know they were following me," Luke said honestly. His mind was still racing and he tried to calm down. He didn't understand why Ivanova had him followed without telling him.

"Sure you didn't," Stakes said, "They say they're here on vacation, but we both know better than that, don't we?"

"I don't know why they're here," Luke reiterated, "Let them go, they can't hurt you."

"I don't think so," Parris said to Stakes, "Send them down."

"Down." The other four agreed aloud. Stakes pressed a panel on the table, and three discs disappeared from the floor, leaving nothing in their wake. Two men each forced Mac and Mitch to the holes. With two swipes, their hands and legs were freed. The duo tried to fight the four men off. Mitch was almost free, when Needans got up and kicked him in the groin. Mitch fell to the ground instantly and was thrust head first down one hole. After losing a wrestling match, Mac was sent, feet first, down a second hole. Luke, too, tried to resist, but his two captors had returned and shoved him down the final hole.

A week had passed since Ivanova had gotten a message from any of the Rangers she sent to Mars. She contacted the outpost on Mars, but they had heard nothing from their fellow Rangers. And Mitch's wife had come by with her worries.

Susan had talked to Diana and reassured her as best she could that she would find out what was going on. After Diana left her office, she called the Mars outpost again. She put them on alert status to find out what was going on with Baldwin, Zaxtin and Myer.

Not long after doing so, she received an anonymous data crystal. It was brought in by one of the Rangers, in a package addressed to her. Any such package was checked for explosives, poisons, or other life threatening devices. The package was cleared, and made its way to her.

"Who sent this?" Susan asked of the Ranger who dropped off the small package.

"It says right on it, Mars Embassy. It checked out," the Ranger reassured her.

Susan nodded her dismissal at him. The Ranger turned and left her office, other duties calling him.

Susan stared at the package, still not quite trusting it…she didn't usually get deliveries she wasn't expecting. Curiosity got the best of her, and she opened the small, square package. The box contained a data crystal. She put it into her player.

A note came onto the screen:

_Your son is in our possession. We also have two Rangers. We will kill them if our demands are not met. We will exchange your men for you. Do not attempt to find the origin of this package…you will only discover that it was sent by a dummy name from the Mars Embassy. You see how meticulous we are. Oh, it appears one of the Rangers is married. May be difficult to explain to his family that he was killed for your sake. _

_Come to Mars for the exchange. We expect you here within seven days of receipt of this package. _

_Inside, you will find pictures of your men in detention. Be assured they will live as long as you are here in seven days._

Her screen flashed, and then live shots were shown of each man. Susan easily identified Luke, Mac and then Mitch. Forty seconds later, the screen blinked off.

"Hell," Susan mumbled to herself. With a touch on her console, she started a call to Delenn to see if their advisors could think of any way out of the problem.

Mitch sat on the bunk in his cell, contemplating how he'd ended up there. He guessed it had been a week, as he and Mac seemed to be fed once a day, and had had seven meals.

When he came out of the chute he'd been forced down, Mitch executed a somersault. He had seen light ahead of him just in time to move his hand from his groin to a position for the somersault. He still landed hard. He sat down after his landing and took in the cell, lit by a single bulb in the hallway. There was a bed by the wall, a toilet, a sink and bars blocking his way out.

"Mac! Luke!" Mitch called when he heard a pair of thuds a minute later.

"Just me," Mac had responded.

"Where's Luke?'

"I don't know, I just got here," Mac ended up two cells down the hall. As Mitch's eyes adjusted to the light, he'd seen he friend not far away.

"You okay?"

"Think so, kind of hit hard on my feet when I landed. Considering that little adventure I had getting the DNA for the Entil'zha recently, this wasn't bad. What about you? I saw that shot you took up there."

"I'm fine. Or I will be when we figure our way out of here," Mitch had concurred. In the excitement of the fall, his pain had gone.

"We can't do much now," Mac pointed out, "Beyond testing the bars, that is. Going back up that tube isn't an option. Mine's closed."

"Mine too," Mitch had said, irritated as he tried shaking his cell door. Nothing happened except a pile of dust went up his nose, causing him to sneeze.

"I don't know about you, but this is useless. They took all our gear…I'm lucky they gave me my clothes back after the strip search," Mac had complained.

"Yea, they didn't leave me with so much as a pocketknife. And they weren't gentle either. I think I have a black eye," Mitch had commiserated, getting as close to Mac's cell as he could and showing him his eyes.

"I can't really tell," Mac said, "Not enough light, and you're too far away."

After that, they had both retired to their bunks. Food was served hours later, but they had no clue about time, except that they were kept hungry and the food was not very good.

Now Mitch sat on his bunk, out of his friend's sight and brushed his hands through his hair, "Dammit. At least Lee got away."

"He gave them 'what for' first. Interesting that he didn't let himself get caught with you," Mac said. They'd had this conversation before, holding out hope that Lee could rescue them. Mac had already given up, but he would not tell Mitch that.

"That dog will never be caught by anyone. He only lives with us because he wants to," Mitch laughed, "I hope he can make it out there, but he's smart, and he will. He lost his tags, again, so I don't know if other Rangers will recognize him. I've never had a stint on Mars."

"Well, there's nothing we can do," Mac sighed, rubbing his week-old beard with his right hand, "They're treating us like pigs. Don't trust either of us with even a spoon. We're lucky to get a bed and a towel to use."

"I wonder why they are being so nice to us," Mitch said.

"Don't know. Maybe they have some special plan for us," Mac said.

"I still wonder what happened to Luke…" Mitch let the sentence trail. Mac agreed with a grunt.

Luke Zaxin never imagined he'd be in such a desperate situation. He had landed in a six-foot by six-foot cell. The ceiling was high overhead; there was no escape. Telepath guards constantly walked his corridor, even though he was the only one occupying a cell. Sometimes they stared at him, and he hated that. The only time his mind stopped racing was when he slept.

They were starving him. He didn't know what sort of a food schedule they had him on, but it wasn't enough. He was hungry all the time.

And then there were the beatings. They seemed hourly, although Luke was certain that must be a figment of his imagination. The Ranger training included hand-to-hand fighting methods, but they didn't work well when you were tired, hungry, and out manned.

He did not know why he was being treated this way, and he was afraid for Mac and Mitch, who had been sent after him for reasons unknown. He hoped they hadn't been killed. Then he thought that, if they were going through the same, he'd rather they were dead.

Susan Ivanova dismissed the meeting she was in, and moved to the head of the table where one other awaited her. She had convened the meeting to find out if the Rangers posted on Mars would be able to rescue their comrades, but they had been unable to discern where the three men were being held. Some other options were discussed, none firm. Ivanova wanted to make the final decision. First, she wanted the opinion of the friend before her.

"What do you think?" Ivanova asked.

"I think that the answers are all on Mars," Delenn began, "When John went to Mars to rescue his father, and was later captured, he went alone. Do not go alone. Learn from the past, Susan, we need you here."

"I was thinking along those same lines. There is a Minbari Ranger named Tenvic, he trains recruits with the Denn'bok. And I thought I might bring Diana Baldwin."

"Mitch's wife. She is a strong woman," Delenn stated. She knew the woman well. The last few years they'd had less contact, but they did like to keep in touch.

"It sounds like risking a lot, but she's not going to do something rash. She retired from the Rangers after B Five was decommissioned. She is the vice principal of the children's school here. I was going to reactivate her. I know she's going stir crazy," Susan said.

"I think she'll do fine," Delenn agreed.

"There is also a Ranger by the name of Tim Brooks. I think he'd be an asset," Susan said.

"I know him, his wife passed away sixteen years ago. In fact, since the last time I have seen him, he has earned several commendations on his record," Delenn said.

"You've been keeping track of him?" Ivanova asked.

"I have had reason to, but only because he is a friend," Delenn said, indicating the story should wait for another time.

Susan nodded, "All right then, the choice is obvious, I go to Mars."

"Using caution," Delenn interjected, "I would have David go along as well, but it would take him too long to come back from his assignment."

"Of course," Susan agreed, "The _Edo'oso_ is small, and fast enough to get me there in 3 days. It takes a crew compliment of thirty-five. I'll keep you posted."

Mitch and Mac had been in their cells for eleven days when they had three visitors, other than their mute food servers. Mitch thought they were in the room the other night, but with the suddenness of the lights coming on, it was hard to remember what any of the assembled members looked like. Luke was with them, looking unwell.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Mitch asked one of the two men with Luke. The other was releasing Mac. Luke stood motionless, his eyes tired and drooping.

"The name's Newton Swan, my friend is Ian Dodger; you're getting out of here," the man replied as he released the lock on Mitch's cell.

"Why?" Mitch asked, stepping out, "We've been left to rot this long, why not longer?"

"Hey, do you want to stay or go? Because if you want to stay you can get back in your cell," Newton glared.

"No, let's go," Mitch said, eyeing Luke, "What happened to you?"

"They roughed him up…not very happy with him being followed by the two of you," Dodger said.

"That wasn't his fault. He didn't know we were following him," Mac insisted.

"All right, we don't have time for long discussions," Newton cut in, "We're not supposed to be doing this. Ian, me, some others, we're BLIPS, and we're trying to help you, because we don't like what this sect of Psi Corps has planned. They don't know we've betrayed them, yet, and if you three keep quiet, by the time they do know, we'll be long gone."

"Luke…can you walk?" Mitch had to check again. The young Ranger looked like he would fall over any second.

Luke nodded.

"All right, I guess we should get going," Mitch admitted.

The five of them made their way through an intricate maze of tunnels in the building, sometimes going up stairs. Newton made sure he went as slow as he could for Luke's sake, but it wasn't easy. All his instincts told him to run like the wind. They had limited time on their side; all the guards they would pass on their way to the hovcar were undercover BLIPS as well. Once the shift was over, if they weren't there, they were dead. He kept that fact from the three they were rescuing. If they panicked, it was lights out.

Finally, they made it to the garage level, in a spot where they wouldn't be noticed. All the employees parked there, and most should have been gone for the day. The five of them stuck to the walls as they moved along toward where the hovcar was waiting at the end of the aisle. Newton would be the one to drive while Ian "babysat" their passengers.

They were getting ready to board the vehicle when voices shouted at them to stop. Mitch turned toward the sound for a second, then shoved Luke into the hovcar. Only Newton and Ian had weapons. The Rangers had only their street clothes and wits to save them. Seeing that Luke was in, Mitch shoved Mac ahead of him.

Newton swore and got into the driver's seat. He started the hovcar as Mac and Luke positioned themselves. Ian was pulling a PPG out. Mitch knocked it out of his hand as he realized what was going on.

"Are you crazy?" Ian yelled as the weapon clattered to the floor.

"They're not your people. They're mine," Mitch said as Lee came trotting toward him, "Let me explain what's going on."

"Look, man, we've got to go!" Ian said, "This was not in the plan."

"Do we have five minutes?" Mitch asked.

"No."

"All right, don't do anything. Just tell your superiors you were trying to stop our escape when they find you. Let them think we escaped by ourselves, with only the help of other Rangers, or better yet, that you were forced to help us," Mitch pleaded.

"They'll scan us," Ian said.

"Can't you block them?" Mac inquired.

"We're not supposed to," Ian replied, "So if we do, we die."

"Come with us then. It's the only other option," Mitch said, rubbing his eyes. He was tired of thinking on his feet already, but it was better than stagnating in a cell.

"Agreed," Ian said quickly, getting into the hovcar.

"Mitch!" a familiar voice called and the woman who matched it came running at him from the other end of the garage.

"Diana?" Mitch called back, "Look, we have to go, now. Get out of here. Once we clear the atmosphere, we'll follow you to the White Star.

"You know those things aren't very spaceworthy," Diana warned him.

"Do we have far to go?" Mitch asked. He was face to face with his wife again and running short on time. Any reunion would have to wait until later.

"We'll make sure you don't," Diana said.

"Go. Now! Take Lee," Mitch ordered.

Diana looked him in the eye, gave him a fast kiss full on the lips and turned from him, back toward her team, "Lee, come on."

The dog obediently followed her. The hovcar with the telepaths aboard took off and left the garage. Diana had just entered her team's small, multi use ground to air transport when gunfire broke out. Someone had discovered the missing prisoners.

"Don't return fire," Diana said to Tim Brooks as he piloted, "Just get us out of here. The ship can take it."

"You got it," Tim said, racing his way as fast as possible out of the barely-big-enough garage. The other Ranger on board was Tenvic, the Minbari weapons expert.

"Overtake the hovcar and lead them back to the _Edo'oso_," Diana added. She knew they were lucky this mission went as well as it did. They did not expect to find the missing Rangers so easily.

"We're not going to stop somewhere and transfer them aboard?" Tim questioned.

"No time. These are telepaths we're talking about. This is a better plan," Diana insisted.

Tim nodded his assent.

The Rangers and the telepaths who were on their side arrived at the _Edo'oso_ twenty minutes after their escape. Ten Corp tried to send a pursuit team, but the Rangers had a five minute lead and were out of range by then.

The hovcar was toast by the time Newton was done with it. It wasn't designed for extended time in space, maybe an hour, and it was not designed to go full throttle through the atmosphere. As soon as was possible, the hovcar was jettisoned.

Luke had slept for the duration of the trip, his mind finally at ease for the first time in many days. He was still exhausted, and very malnourished. When the Med bay doctors arrived, Mitch made sure Luke was taken out immediately.

Mac and Mitch refused treatment for themselves. They were very hungry, and a little tired, but wanted to report in first. It didn't take them long to get a chance. Ranger One appeared in the shuttle bay shortly after their arrival. Every Ranger in the room came to attention.

"Please, people, relax," Susan said calmly, "I see you two have made it back in one piece. Good job. Who are those two?"

Newton and Ian had been leaning against a shuttle, not all that impressed by Ranger One. This had piqued her curiosity.

"They need sanctuary, Entil'zha," Mitch spoke up, "They were instrumental in our release. They're also telepaths. BLIPs."

"Is that so?" Susan asked of Mac.

"Yes, ma'am. Ian and Newton are their names. They have a lot of information for you," Mac confirmed.

"Entil'zha?" Newton spoke up, "So you're the one they want to depose? And that boy is your son?'

"He is," Susan nodded, "Thank you for helping to free my Rangers. Welcome aboard. Tim, Tenvic, make sure our two newcomers make themselves comfortable in crew quarters until we reach Minbar. And keep them out of non-civilian sections."

"Yes ma'am," the two said, leading Ian and Newton out.

"You three go get comfortable. I'll debrief you on Minbar," Susan ordered, turning to leave.

"I'd rather do it now," Mitch said, "While I can remember everything."

Susan sighed mentally. These Rangers, so determined to do their duty. She'd never come across a subordinate like these in Earthforce, "It would be better for me, then, if you put it into a report for me to review on arrival at Minbar. And then you can rest when you'd like."

Mitch only nodded. He _was_ kind of tired. And his stomach was going again. It let out a sharp growl.

Ivanova eyed his stomach, "You might get something to eat as well."

"Yes ma'am," Mitch agreed, grinning.

"You're dismissed," Ivanova said, walking out into the hallway.

Diana wasted no time wrapping her arms around her husband's neck and giving him a full on kiss. In his current state of weakness, Mitch couldn't stop her, and Mac certainly wouldn't. Despite their audience, the couple spent a full thirty seconds in kiss mode. It was a while longer before they broke their embrace.

When they did, Lee immediately wanted attention. He stuck his head under Mitch's hand and the human was forced into petting the dog. Diana and Mac laughed and the four walked off toward the mess hall.

"How did you find us?" Mitch asked between bites of casserole.

"We didn't. Lee did," Diana said, patting the faithful dog's head.

"I thought he got lost. He wasn't with us, and we can't keep a collar on him lately," Mitch wondered.

"He was lost. Then he found a Ranger station. There was a tourist in who recognized Lee's scar, the one on his jaw. He remembered Lee from the trip Mac took to Earth. The Ranger station contacted us, they knew we were on the way. I picked up Lee and he followed your trail to the building," Diana told him, "Only, we weren't sure what we'd find inside the building. Ranger One insisted that just the three of us…Me, Tenvic and Tim, go in. Boy were we surprised to see you in the parking lot."

"I'm glad you were there," Mitch said softly, "I don't know how they were going to get us back to Minbar. This way is much better."

"I knew I should have left you two alone," Mac laughed, "You're going to be all romantic till we get home. And then some I bet."

"You bet right," Mitch said, stealing another kiss from Diana, and then a bite of food, "Who's got the kids?"

"Tim's wife, Christina. Marc and Henry are like brothers, anyway," Diana replied.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, Henry is around quite a bit I've noticed," Mitch said, "I think I'm ready for a nap."

"Me too," Diana agreed, "You coming along, Mac?"

"Nope. I'm going to have some desserts. I been missing out you know," Mac advised them, laughing as they walked out, Lee on their heels.

The _Edo'oso_'s Med bay had four private beds nestled in rectangular cubicles, each ready with their own monitors, blankets, and curtains. The beds were slanted Minbari style, but not at an acute angle. They were also wider, in case the patient rolled or moved a lot in bed.

Susan Ivanova made her way to the Med bay and sat next to Luke. The doctors had stabilized him, and he was sleeping. Two IV's were dripping into his right arm, one light blue, and the other orange. She was told they were to help replace minerals and electrolytes he'd lost. They had covered him in two soft blankets, so only his left arm and head were exposed.

"I'm sorry," she said first, not sure what else to say, knowing that if she at least started, the rest would come, "I didn't think this was going to be so dangerous. I never suspected Psi Corp.

"I shouldn't have let you go. You were too new, and even with Mac and Mitch, I almost lost all three of you. I know you'll be fine soon. I can make proper amends then, but I had to tell you now, to see you and tell you that I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Mother," Luke said in a barely audible whisper, "I live for the one, I…"

Susan listened as his voice trailed off and Luke fell back to sleep again. She realized he probably wouldn't remember her saying what she did. She was surprised he'd awakened at all. He looked so weak, helpless, lying there as he did. Susan wanted to help, somehow.

Hours later, when he woke up, she still would be there.

It had been a week since the Rangers arrived on Minbar, glad to be home. Susan took the information that Ian and Newton gave her and passed it on to the Rangers on Mars. They would look into hunting down the others who were running Ten Corp and try to find out what, if any, black projects they were running.

It had been a week since the Rangers arrived on Minbar, glad to be home. Susan took the information that Ian and Newton gave her and passed it on to the Rangers on Mars. They would look into hunting down the others who were running Ten Corp and try to find out what, if any, black projects they were running.

Mitch awoke, his wife in his arms. He had taken some personal time, to decide if he wanted to stay in the Rangers or not. He was sure enjoying waking up with Diana every day. The thirteen days he spent on Mars, held captive, were just bad memories, now.

Diana rolled away from him as she slept, and he used the opportunity to visit the bathroom and shower. It was the weekend. They could spend it any way they wanted to, with their family.

"You're looking good," Diana said as he finished shaving.

"Thank you, dear, he grinned at her, wiping his face dry with the towel that was over his shoulder. "I have to tell you, I've decided about work. I'm going back."

"Oh, so that's what this good mood is all about?"

"Uh huh. I have to admit that even though my last mission was a major disaster, we still completed it and came home in one piece, and I'd miss it if I retired right now. It's not time yet," he told her.

"I'm glad you decided to go back. I can't see you leaving the Rangers just yet, either. So, are you ready for breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes, dear, more than ready."

"Good, you cook," she ordered.

"That's not playing fair."

"When have I ever?" she asked him with one eyebrow raised.

He laughed. She never had, and he would never expect her to.

Luke had recovered from his experiences on Mars and was waiting outside of Susan's office for a meeting. A few moments later, he was called into her office.

"I see you're feeling better," Susan said to him.

"I am, thanks. Glad to be home," Luke concurred.

"I'm sorry this mission went so badly. I am placing you back on regular duty. You'll get your orders from Mac Myer," Susan informed him.

"Good. I was hoping things would get back to normal," Luke nodded.

"I'm having dinner with the President this evening. Would you like to go? I'd like her to meet my son," Susan offered.

"Yes, I'd like that. And I wanted to ask you something else, regarding a change of my name," Luke said.

"Like what?"

"My middle name is already Cole. I'd like to drop Zaxtin from my name and use your last name: Ivanov," Luke said.

"Luke Ivanov. It's got a nice ring to it," Susan agreed.

Luke grinned his Marcus-smile, "Thanks."

**The End**

38


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